Baseline characteristics of the study population, overall and stratified by the trajectory patterns of UACR
| All | UACR trajectory groups | |||
| ‘High-increasing’ | ‘High-decreasing’ | ‘Low-stable’ | ||
| Number of patients (%) | 329 | 254 (77.2) | 24 (7.3) | 51 (15.5) |
| Number of UACR measurements during the 2-year follow-up interval | 9 (8, 15) | 9 (8, 15) | 9 (8, 12) | 9 (8, 20) |
| Number of serum creatinine measurements during the 2-year follow-up interval | 9 (8, 15) | 9 (8, 15) | 9 (8, 12) | 9 (8, 20) |
| Clinical characteristics at baseline | ||||
| Age (years) | 60 (50, 67) | 60 (50, 68) | 64 (49, 75) | 56 (49, 63) |
| Male (%) | 71.7 | 72.0 | 66.7 | 72.5 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.6 (21.6, 25.8) | 23.5 (21.3, 25.9) | 25.7 (23.3, 28.5) | 22.9 (20.9, 25.3) |
| Diabetes duration (years) | 13 (9, 20) | 14 (10, 22) | 11 (8, 19) | 10 (5, 17) |
| Hemoglobin A1c (%) | 7.3 (6.4, 8.9) | 7.3 (6.3, 8.5) | 7.6 (6.9, 10.3) | 7.6 (6.5, 10.4) |
| Hemoglobin A1c (mmol/mol) | 56.3 (46.4, 73.8) | 56.3 (45.4, 69.4) | 59.6 (51.9, 89.1) | 59.6 (47.5, 90.2) |
| eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 53.7 (41.8, 68.9) | 50.7 (41.0, 66.7) | 52.5 (38.0, 65.5) | 67.9 (49.4, 89.7) |
| Glomerular filtration ratecategories | ||||
| eGFR ≥90 | 31 (9.4) | 17 (6.7) | 2 (8.3) | 12 (23.5) |
| eGFR 60–90 | 95 (28.9) | 70 (27.6) | 6 (25.0) | 19 (37.3) |
| eGFR 30–60 | 203 (61.7) | 167 (65.7) | 16 (66.7) | 20 (39.2) |
| UACR (mg/g creatinine) | 1078 (408, 2148) | 1380 (654, 2502) | 906 (468, 1740) | 109 (50, 138) |
| Albuminuria categories | ||||
| Normoalbuminuria (UACR <30) | 6 (1.8) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 6 (11.8) |
| Microalbuminuria (UACR 30–300) | 64 (19.5) | 20 (7.9) | 0 (0.0) | 44 (86.3) |
| Macroalbuminuria (UACR ≥300) | 259 (78.7) | 234 (92.1) | 24 (100.0) | 1 (1.9) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 140 (128, 154) | 142 (131, 157) | 141 (132, 148) | 128 (112, 142) |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 77 (69, 90) | 78 (70, 90) | 82 (70, 95) | 74 (62, 80) |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 202 (169, 240) | 202 (170, 243) | 199 (172, 268) | 193 (162, 234) |
| LDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 117 (85, 146) | 123 (90, 148) | 107 (80, 143) | 87 (68, 111) |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 43 (35, 55) | 44 (36, 55) | 41 (31, 55) | 33 (42, 49) |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 149 (107, 204) | 147 (105, 200) | 145 (120, 279) | 156 (114, 205) |
| Medication usage (%) | ||||
| RAS blocker | 64.1 | 65.0 | 66.7 | 58.8 |
| Glucose-lowering medication | 57.8 | 61.0 | 58.3 | 41.2 |
| Lipid-lowering medication | 30.4 | 30.0 | 37.5 | 29.4 |
| Ever having smoked (%) | 54.1 | 53.5 | 54.2 | 49.0 |
| History of cardiovascular disease (%) | 18.8 | 20.1 | 25.0 | 9.8 |
| Pathological characteristics at baseline | ||||
| RPS Diabetic Nephropathy Classification | ||||
| Glomerular classification | ||||
| Class I | 6.7 | 2.3 | 6.4 | 20.0 |
| Class IIa | 28.6 | 19.0 | 32.3 | 58.2 |
| Class IIb | 34.3 | 40.3 | 29.0 | 9.1 |
| Class III | 27.1 | 26.9 | 22.6 | 12.7 |
| Class IV | 3.3 | 11.5 | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| Interstitial lesions | ||||
| IFTA | ||||
| 0 | 10.3 | 7.1 | 4.2 | 29.4 |
| 1 | 36.5 | 33.1 | 45.8 | 49.0 |
| 2 | 31.9 | 33.4 | 41.7 | 19.6 |
| 3 | 21.3 | 26.4 | 8.3 | 2.0 |
| Interstitial inflammation | ||||
| 0 | 16.7 | 13.0 | 8.3 | 39.2 |
| 1 | 76.9 | 81.1 | 87.5 | 51.0 |
| 2 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 4.2 | 9.8 |
| Vascular lesions | ||||
| Arteriolar hyalinosis | ||||
| 0 | 9.4 | 5.1 | 37.5 | 17.6 |
| 1 | 59.9 | 61.0 | 58.3 | 54.9 |
| 2 | 30.7 | 33.9 | 4.2 | 27.5 |
| Large vessels arteriosclerosis | ||||
| 0 | 14.0 | 12.6 | 12.5 | 21.6 |
| 1 | 48.0 | 49.2 | 54.2 | 39.2 |
| 2 | 38.0 | 38.2 | 33.3 | 39.2 |
Data are expressed as mean (SD), median (25th, 75th percentiles), or percentage.
BMI, body mass index; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; IFTA, interstitial fibrosis & tubular atrophy; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; RAS, renin-angiotensin system; RPS, Renal Pathology Society; UACR, urine albumin to creatinine ratio.