Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) with high morbimortality rates. Hyperuricemia is a predisposing factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D), even with normal renal function.
Objective: The current work aimed to determine the associations and predictors of serum uric acid (SUA) in cases with T2D with microalbuminuria.
Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study included a total of 105 patients with T2D. Microalbuminuria, serum uric acid and other parameters were measured at the time of inclusion of patients.
Results: Among T2D cases, 42.9% had microalbuminuria (MAU). Higher levels of serum creatinine, uric acid, waist circumference (WC), mean blood pressure (BP), and low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) remained accompanied by an increased risk of microalbuminuria. A moderate predictive ability for serum uric acid level was found in predicting microalbuminuria, with a sensitivity of 84.4% and specificity of 61.7%. Uric acid showed significant positive correlations with WC, total cholesterol (TC) and significant negative correlation with HDL in those without microalbuminuria, as well as significant positive correlations with age, mean arterial pressure, TC and triglycerides (TGs) in those with microalbuminuria. In the group without microalbuminuria, WC and TC were positive predictors for high uric acid. In the microalbuminuria group, lower HDL was a significant predictor of serum uric acid.
Conclusion: The serum uric acid level may serve as a useful marker for predicting microalbuminuria. Both uric acid and microalbuminuria are predictors of nephropathy in patients with T2D. However, additional validation and consideration of other clinical factors are necessary for an accurate risk assessment.