Year: 2026 | Month: October | Volume: 16 | Issue: 10 | Pages: 37-52
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20261005
Association between Microalbuminuria and Diabetic Retinopathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study
Mohammad Zubair Didgur
Assistant Professor, Department of General Medicine, KMCRI Hubli Karnataka.
ABSTRACT
Background: Diabetic retinopathy and diabetic nephropathy share a common microvascular pathogenesis, and microalbuminuria is regarded as an early marker of generalised endothelial injury. This study determined the prevalence of microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetes mellitus and examined its association with the presence and severity of diabetic retinopathy.
Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 100 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus of at least one year duration, aged 30 to 70 years. Patients with macroalbuminuria, non-diabetic renal disease or media opacity were excluded. The urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio was estimated on early morning samples by immunoturbidimetry and confirmed on repeat testing. Retinopathy was graded on dilated fundus examination and photography using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study classification by an ophthalmologist masked to the urinary results.
Results: Microalbuminuria was present in 38 (38.0%) patients and retinopathy in 34 (34.0%). Retinopathy was significantly more frequent in microalbuminuric than normoalbuminuric patients (57.9% versus 19.4%; p < 0.001; odds ratio 5.73, 95% confidence interval 2.33 to 14.11), and sight-threatening disease was largely confined to the microalbuminuric group (18.4% versus 3.2%; p = 0.010). The albumin-to-creatinine ratio correlated with retinopathy severity (rho = 0.512, p < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, microalbuminuria (adjusted odds ratio 3.86, p = 0.008), diabetes duration of ten years or more (3.12, p = 0.022) and glycated haemoglobin (1.62 per 1%, p = 0.010) were independent predictors.
Conclusion: Microalbuminuria was independently associated with the presence and severity of diabetic retinopathy. Its detection should prompt prioritised retinal screening, although the observed sensitivity was insufficient for it to replace fundus examination.
Key words: Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Microalbuminuria; Diabetic retinopathy; Albumin-to-creatinine ratio; Microvascular complications