Objective: Urinary cystatin C (UCC) is an emerging marker of DN. UCC has recently been suggested as an alternative marker in eGFR due to its favorable properties. This study was conducted to evaluate the presence of glomerulopathy and tubulopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to correlate them with established risk factors for nephropathy. We aimed at evaluating the level of UCC as a marker of tubulointerstitial damage in patients with T2DM in relation to the level of albuminuria and other parameters.

Methods: Sixty eight patients with T2DM (mean age, 47.44 ± 10.40 years) age- and sex-matched subjects were evaluated for UCC, serum creatinine (SCr), and urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) along with other parameters.

Results: Of the 68 patients enrolled in the study, 49 were male (72%) and 19 were female (28%). The mean duration of diabetes was 7.21 ± 4.03 years, mean HbA1c was 9.1 ± 1.3%, and mean body mass index (BMI) was 23.21 ± 3.11 kg/m2. Microalbuminuria was found in 17 (25%) cases and macroalbuminuria was found in 8 (11.8%) cases. The mean UACR of the study group was 113.42 ± 252.31 mg/g creatinine and mean UCC was 741.26 ± 1523.46 ng/ml. There was a statistically significant association between rising albumin excretion and BMI, duration of diabetes, SCr, UCC, and SBP and DBP. A significant negative correlation between eGFR and age of the patient and SCr and significant positive correlation between eGFR and BMI was noted. However, a negative correlation between eGFR and UCC failed to achieve statistical significance.

Conclusion: We thus conclude that UCC may be one of the early biomarkers of DN. the use of UCC measurement for early evaluation of renal involvement and may help initiation of timely treatment and prevent/delay renal complications of diabetes.

Disclosure

P. Hans: None. M. Kumar: None.

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