association of microalbuminuria and estimated glomerular filtration rate with carotid intima-media thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: atherosclerosis is the main cause of cardiovascular diseases, and its risk enhances in type 2 diabetes mellitus.objectives: this study aimed to evaluate carotid intima-media thickness (cimt) by carotid artery ultrasonography and assess its correlation with microalbuminuria and estimated glomerular filtration rate (egfr) in the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.patients and methods: this cross-sectional study was included 205 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2dm). we recorded clinical and biochemical data such as fbs, lipid profile, and urinary albumin. intima-media thickness of carotid arteries was measured in all patients by high frequency ultrasound.results: in simple correlation coefficients analysis, cimt was significantly associated with total cholesterol (r = 0.197, p = 0.008), serum creatinine (r = 0.240, p = 0.001), and urinary albumin (r = 0.420, p = 0.000). also, cimt elevated significantly with the stage progression of chronic kidney disease (0.67 ± 0.15 mm in stage 1, 0.73 ± 0.22 mm in stage 2, and 0.82 ± 0.21 mm in stage 3) (p value = 0.024). in multivariate linear regression analysis, the duration of diabetes, weight, hdl, serum creatinine, urinary albumin, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (egfr) were independently associated with cimt (p value < 0.05 for all).conclusions: our study shows a relationship between cimt and renal parameters, including egfr and albuminuria. this study confirms the importance of intensive examinations for early detection of atherosclerosis and treatment of risk factors.