Early-onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for diabetic nephropathy progression: a biopsy-based study

Aging (Albany NY). 2021 Mar 3;13(6):8146-8154. doi: 10.18632/aging.202624. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

Abstract

Several studies show that patients with early-onset diabetes have higher risk of diabetic complications than those diagnosed in middle age. However, whether early-onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a risk factor for diabetic nephropathy (DN) progression remains unclear, especially a lack of data in biopsy-confirmed cohort. In This study, we enrolled 257 patients with T2DM and biopsy-confirmed DN to investigate the role of early-onset T2DM in DN progression. Participants were divided into two groups according to the age of T2DM diagnosis: early-onset group (less than 40 years) and later-onset group (40 years or older). We found that patients with early-onset T2DM had higher glomerular grades and arteriolar hyalinosis scores than those in later-onset group. After adjusted for confounding factors, early-onset of T2DM remained an independent predictor of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) for patients with DN. In conclusion, although with the comparable renal function and proteinuria, patients with early-onset T2DM and DN had worse renal pathological changes than those with later-onset. Early-onset of T2DM might be an important predictor of ESRD for patients with DN, which called more attention to early supervision and prevention for patients with early-onset T2DM and DN.

Keywords: T2DM; diabetic nephropathy; early-onset.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age of Onset
  • Biopsy
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / complications*
  • Diabetic Nephropathies / pathology*
  • Disease Progression
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Risk Factors