Background: The objective of this study was to determinate the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the different stages of CKD in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) treated in primary care consults in Spain.
Methods: A national cross-sectional study was performed in primary care consults. The following data were collected: demographic and anthropometric information; list of present cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF); previous macrovascular and microvascular disease history; physical examination and analytical data from the previous 12 months, including the urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to evaluate renal function.
Results: With regard to the patients, 27.9% presented some degree of CKD as follows: 3.5% with stage 1; 6.4% with stage 2; 16.8% with stage 3 (11.6% with stage 3A and 5.2% with stage 3B); and 1.2% with stages 4 and 5. The prevalence of patients with UACR ≥ 30 mg/g was 15.4% (13% microalbuminuria and 2.4% macroalbuminuria). Renal impairment (RI) was found in 206 patients (18%) of whom 133 patients (64.6%) was stage 3A, 60 patients (29.1%) was stage 3B and 13 patients (6.3%) stages 4 and 5. Among patients with RI, 143 patients (69.4%) had normoalbuminuria. The following variables were significantly associated with CKD: age; sex (women); systolic arterial blood pressure (SABP) ≥ 150 mmHg; and a previous history of cardiovascular disease.
Conclusions: The results showed that the prevalence for any type of CKD was 27.9%. A systematic determination of UACR and eGFR may contribute to an early diagnosis, thus allowing intervention during the initial stages of the disease when treatment is more efficient.