Association between Diabetic Nephropathy Grade and Quality of Life among Type II Diabetic Patients

Introduction: One of the most profound long-standing consequences of diabetes mellitus is
diabetic nephropathy. In many countries, diabetes is proved to be the most frequent single
cause of end-stage renal disease. Aim of the work: analyze the association between diabetic
nephropathy grade and quality of life among type II diabetic patients. Material and methods:
Quantitative descriptive study design applied on a purposive sample of 41 individuals with
type II diabetes attended to the medical outpatient clinic in Menoufia University
Hospital. Tools: Tool I- A structured interviewing questionnaire. Tool II- Assessment of the
kidney function. Tool III- Kidney Disease Quality of Life. Results: serum creatinine and
blood urea nitrogen were increased, also the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was
decreased in individuals with type II diabetes as disease duration increase. The prevalence of
diabetic nephropathy in the current work was high representing 56.1%. In addition increasing
body mass index more than 25. Diabetic nephropathy was associated with all five HRQOL
dimensions as patients in stage 3-kidney disease had lower scores than patients in stages 1 and
2. Conclusion: The present data confirm that the most striking risk factors for diabetic
nephropathy in the type II diabetes are BMI ≥ 25, diabetes duration, hypertension, age ≥ 50
years, and family history. Recommendation: The current study recommended that urinalysis
should be performed regularly as part of a screening program which is a preventive
intervention to preserve the kidneys in diabetic patients and will detect individuals with
nephropathy early.