MICROALBUMINURIA IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DEATH IN JAPANESE NIDDM

To evaluate whether the presence of microalbuminuria can predict cardi ovascular death in Japanese subjects with non-insulin-dependent diabet es mellitus (NIDDM), we investigated 297 Japanese NIDDM patients with Albustix-negative urine. Patients were divided into two groups, normoa lbuminuric (n = 201) and microalbuminuric (n = 96), and followed until death or the end of 1994 (the mean follow-up period was 6.4 years). D uring the follow-up period, 28 deaths (14 normoalbuminuric and 14 micr oalbuminuric patients) were confirmed and only 10 deaths were attribut ed to cardiovascular disease (6 normoalbuminuric and 4 microalbuminuri c patients). Although the age- and sex-adjusted mortality rate from al l-causes in the microalbuminuric group was significantly higher than t hat in the normoalbuminuric group (13.5 vs. 8.2 per 1000 person-years: P < 0.05), the mortality rate from cardiovascular disease was not sig nificantly different between two groups (3.4 vs. 3.3 per 1000 person-y ears). On age-adjusted Cox proportional hazards analysis, HbAlc and tr iglyceride were independent risk factors in mortality from cardiovascu lar disease, while microalbuminuria was not associated with cardiovasc ular death. These results indicate that, unlike Caucasians, the presen ce of microalbuminuria can not predict cardiovascular death in Japanes e subjects with NIDDM. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.