Increased urinary albumin excretion is a marker of risk for retinopathy and coronary heart disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

The prevalence of increased urinary albumin excretion (UAE) (micro- and macroalbuminuria) and its association with diabetic retinopathy (DR) (evaluated by fluorescent angiography), coronary heart disease (CHD), and various related risk factors were studied in 320 type 2 diabetic patients. In this subsample of type 2 diabetic patients, microalbuminuria was present in 15% of the patients; macroalbuminuria in 4.8%, CHD in 9.9%, DR in 53.4%, and arterial hypertension in 46%. UAE was independently related to CHD (P < 0.05), retinopathy (P < 0.001), hypertension (P < 0.001), and triglycerides (P < 0.02). We conclude that increased UAE is associated to a greater frequency of retinopathy and CHD in type 2 diabetic patients.