Abstract
Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing dramatically throughout the world as the number of affected adults has quadrupled since 1980 to be more than 422 million adults in 2017. Diabetic nephropathy (DNP) is one of the severe complications of DM and the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the USA, microalbuminuria is considered to be an early stage of diabetic nephropathy.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in outpatient clinics of the diabetic center in Prince Mansour Military Hospital. Diabetes type 2 patients above the ages of 25 years who attended the clinic between November 2017 to April 2018 were included in this study. Data were collected by questionnaire and reviewing medical records for demographic and disease-related variables. DNP was detected by measuring the albumin to creatinine ratio and diagnosed if this ratio was between 30-299 mcg/mg of creatinine as microalbuminuria and > 300 mcg/mg of creatinine as macroalbuminuria. ESRD was defined as GFR less than 15 mL/min/1.73 m2.
Results: The prevalence of DNP was 56 (18.9%) out of 296 patients. A statistically significant correlation was found between DNP and duration of diabetes and hypertension, neuropathy, HbA1c %, serum creatinine and high-density lipoproteins (HDL). No statistical significance was found for gender, age, body mass index (BMI), retinopathy, and smoking.
Conclusion: The prevalence of DNP in patients with type 2 diabetes in Taif city was lower compared to most studies in the same population. The study reported the need for screening DNP in Saudi society and importance of patient education about disease management and modifiable risk factors like maintaining good glycemic control, adherence to hypertension treatment which could reduce the burden of future ESRD.

Key words: Nephropathies, diabetic, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, diabetes mellitus, noninsulin-dependent