ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) increases the risk of cardiovascular (CV) complications, kidney disease progression, and mortality. We aimed to determine the incidence and risk of these outcomes according to DKD phenotype among the Jordanian population. METHODS: A total of 1172 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) of >30 ml/min/1.73 m2 were followed-up from 2019 to 2022. At baseline, patients were classified according to the presence of albuminuria (>30 mg/g creatinine) and reduced eGFR (<60 ml/min/1.73 m2) into four phenotypes: non-DKD (reference category), albuminuric DKD without decreased eGFR, non-albuminuric DKD with decreased eGFR, and albuminuric DKD with decreased eGFR. RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 2.9 ± 0.4 years. Overall, 147 patients (12.5 %) experienced CV events, while 61 (5.2 %) demonstrated kidney disease progression (eGFR: <30 ml/min/1.73 m2). The mortality rate was 4.0 %. Multivariable-adjusted risk for CV events and mortality was greatest for the albuminuric DKD with decreased eGFR group (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.45, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-2.33 and HR: 6.36, 95 % CI: 2.98-13.59, respectively), with the risk increasing when adjusted for prior CV history (HR: 1.47, 95 % CI: 1.06-3.42 and HR: 6.70, 95 % CI: 2.70-16.60, respectively). Risk of a ≥40 % decline in eGFR was greatest for the albuminuric DKD with decreased eGFR group (HR: 3.45, 95 % CI: 1.74-6.85), followed by the albuminuric DKD without decreased eGFR group (HR: 1.6, 95 % CI: 1.06-2.75). CONCLUSION: Thus, patients with albuminuric DKD and decreased eGFR were at greater risk for poor CV, renal, and mortality outcomes compared to other phenotypes.