Microalbuminuria signifies the onset of diabetic nephropathy, but normoalbuminuric patients with diabetes who have a low Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) are not uncommon. The purpose of the study was to estimate the prevalence of such patients and to assess the clinical correlates.

Cross-sectional study included patients with diabetes attending medical clinics at Teaching Hospital Galle. Diagnosis of albuminuria was made if urinary albumin excretion was > 30 mg/g of creatinine in two out of three samples. Patients were stratified into chronic kidney disease stages according to the estimated GFR (eGFR) calculated by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD).

Mean (SD) age and duration of the disease of 456 (348 females) patients with diabetes were 60 (12) years and 10 (4) years. Sixty (13.2%) patients had low eGFR and 26.7% of them had normoalbuminuria. In the total sample, the proportion of patients with low eGFR and normoalbuminuria was 16 (3.5%). Among the patients with normoalbuminuria and low eGFR, 12.5% had retinopathy and none had any form neuropathy. When age, duration of disease, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, smoking, glycaemic control, presence of hypertension and ischaemic heart disease were included in binary logistic regression model, only age was found to be significant different (OR = 1.1, P = 0.03).

A considerable proportion of adult diabetics are normoalbuminuric despite low eGFR. This limits the role of microalbuminuria as a screening tool to detect the onset of diabetic nephropathy. These patients do not exhibit distinct clinical features that facilitate identification of them using clinical information.