Pathologic Diabetic Nephropathy in Autopsied Diabetic Cases With Normoalbuminuria From a Japanese Community-Based Study

Introduction Albuminuria is a clinical hallmark of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Nevertheless, it is controversial whether pathologic DN lesions exist in individuals with diabetes with normoalbuminuria. We investigated the association between albuminuria levels and the frequency of DN lesions in autopsied diabetic cases from a Japanese community. Methods A total of 106 autopsied cases with diabetes mellitus (mean age = 76 years, 43.4% male) who died within 6 years after their last health examination were included in the study. Urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) levels were divided into the following 3 groups
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