Frequency of Proteinuria in Newly Diagnosed Diabetic Patients Presenting to the Medicine Ward of District Head Quarter Hospital, Dera Ismail Khan

Abstract

Diabetic nephropathy can develop early in the course of diabetes mellitus, often presenting initially as proteinuria and contributing significantly to long-term morbidity. Objective: To determine the frequency of proteinuria in newly diagnosed diabetic patients presenting to the medicine ward of the district headquarters hospital, Dera Ismail Khan. Methodology: The present study was conducted on 210 patients aged 30 to 75 years who were newly diagnosed with diabetes mellitus; diabetes was confirmed on two separate fasting plasma glucose tests with fasting glucose >126 mg/dL. Patients were assessed for proteinuria, which was defined as protein excretion greater than 150 mg/day. SPSS 26 was used for analysis. Associations were evaluated using the Chi-square test, with p-values < 0.05 considered significant. Results: The Mean age of the cohort in the present study was 52.46±13.51 years. The majority of the cohort was male (58.1%). Hypertension was observed in 42.9% cases. Proteinuria was diagnosed in 92 (43.8%) cases. Proteinuria was significantly associated with older age (p = 0.008) and hypertension (p = 0.0001). Conclusion: A high frequency of proteinuria (43.8%) was found among newly diagnosed diabetic patients presenting to the medicine ward. Older age and hypertension were significantly associated with proteinuria in the present study.