Impact of extracellular‐to‐intracellular fluid volume ratio on albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes: A cross‐sectional and longitudinal cohort study

Abstract

Abstract Aims/Introduction Body fluid volume imbalance is common in patients with kidney failure, and is associated with all‐cause mortality. This study aimed to investigate the association between fluid volume imbalance and albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus without kidney failure. Materials and Methods Using data from one cohort study, a baseline cross‐sectional study of 432 participants and a longitudinal cohort study of 368 participants who could follow up was carried out. Body fluid imbalance was determined by measuring the extracellular water (ECW)‐to‐intracellular water (ICW) ratio (ECW/ICW) using bioelectrical impedance analysis. A change in the urinary albumin‐to‐creatinine ratio (ACR) was defined as the ratio of urinary ACR at follow up to that at baseline. The ECW/ICW ratio was compared with the level of albuminuria. Results In this cross‐sectional study, the ECW/ICW ratio increased with the level of albuminuria. There was an association between the ECW/ICW ratio and logarithms of urinary ACR after adjusting for covariates (β = 0.205, P 300 mg/gCr, was 0.648 (area under the curve 0.78, 95% confidence interval 0.58–0.90). Conclusions The ECW/ICW ratio is independently associated with the level of albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus without kidney failure. This reinforces the importance of monitoring fluid balance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Keywords

• Body fluid volume
• Diabetic kidney disease
• Fluid overload