Diabetes Care, Vol 21, Issue 6 1019-1023, Copyright © 1998 by American Diabetes Association
Enhanced progression of urinary albumin excretion in IDDM during puberty
L Barkai, I Vamosi and K Lukacs
Department of Pediatrics, Postgraduate Medical Faculty, Imre Haynal University of Health Sciences, Borsod County Teaching Hospital, Miskolc, Hungary.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the progression of urinary albumin
excretion rate (AER) is higher during puberty than before or after this
period. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in
which normoalbuminuric prepubertal (n = 20), pubertal (n = 28), and
postpubertal (n = 26) IDDM groups matched for diabetes duration and
long-term metabolic control were followed for 3 years. At 6-month
intervals, 24-h urine collection was used to determine AER. RESULTS: AER
increased significantly over a period of 3 years in the pubertal (P =
0.001) and postpubertal (P = 0.003) subjects but not in prepubertal
subjects. The annual progression of AER was significantly higher in the
pubertal group than in the prepubertal (P = 0.001) or postpubertal (P =
0.001) groups. Six pubertal, two postpubertal, and none of the prepubertal
subjects developed microalbuminuria (AER > or = 20 micrograms/min on two
consecutive occasions) over a 3-year period (P = 0.047). Multiple logistic
regression analysis showed that the risk of development of microalbuminuria
was increased in pubertal subjects compared with the prepubertal and
postpubertal subjects (adjusted relative risk [95% CI]: 4.3 [1.5-9.3], P =
0.012, and 2.1 [1.1-5.0], P = 0.023, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Puberty
represents an independent risk of the development of microalbuminuria in
diabetes. This findings suggests that the endocrine changes of puberty lead
to an accelerated process of early kidney damage in diabetes. In pediatric
diabetes care, screening for microalbuminuria is needed soon after the
onset of puberty.