Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of end- stage renal disease in Nigeria.
Objectives: To describe the pattern of glomerular filtration rate abnormalities and its clinical correlates in Nigerians with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Methods: Glomerular filtration rate as determined by the endogenous creatinine clearance was measured in 90 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 60 controls at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos.
Results: Twelve subjects (13.3% ) in the diabetic group had hyperfiltration (GFR > 125 ml/min) compared to 3 (5% ) in the control group, although the mean glomerular filtration rates were similar in the two groups (96.19 +/- 29.14 ml/min and 88.38 +/- 24.13 ml/min respectively, p > 0.05). All the subjects with hyperfiltration had been diabetic for less than 5 years. Only one of the diabetics had renal insufficiency (GFR < 50 ml/min).
Conclusions: This study demonstrates that hyperfiltration is common in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and that it occurs early in the course of the disease.