Chronic Kidney Disease Progression in Type 2 Diabetes Patients

According to recent research, investigators have observed that a relatively high proportion of patients were observed with disease progression over a short period of time, highlighting the need for better identification of patients at risk of rapidly progressive CKD, as published in the Clinical Kidney Journal.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), one of the most common complications of type 2 diabetes (T2D), is associated with poor health outcomes and high healthcare expenditures. As the CKD population increases, a better understanding of the prevalence and progression of CKD is critical. However, few contemporary studies have explored the progression of CKD relative to its onset in T2D patients using established markers derived from real-world care settings.

Hence, Csaba P Kovesdy and colleagues from the Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA conducted this population cohort study to assess the Chronic kidney disease progression among patients with type 2 diabetes identified in US administrative claims. A total of 65,731 and 23,035 patients with T2D contributed to the analysis of eGFR- and UACR-based CKD stage progression, respectively.

The authors included patients with T2D and laboratory evidence of CKD as indicated by the established estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine albumin: creatinine ratio (UACR) criteria. Disease progression was described as transitions across the eGFR- and UACR-based stages.

Observations

• CKD worsening was observed in approximately 10–17% of patients over a median follow-up of 2 years.
• Approximately one-third of patients experienced an increase in eGFR values or a decrease in UACR values during follow-up.

Therefore, the authors concluded that "A relatively high proportion of patients were observed with disease progression over a short period of time, highlighting the need for better identification of patients at risk of rapidly progressive CKD. Future studies are needed to determine the clinical characteristics of these patients to inform earlier diagnostic and therapeutic interventions aimed at slowing disease progression."