OBJECTIVE: To assess albuminuria in rural Zambia among patients with diabetes mellitus only (DM group), hypertension only (HTN group) and patients with combined DM and HTN (DM/HTN group).

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at St. Francis Hospital in the Eastern province of Zambia. Albumin-creatinine ratio in one urine sample was used to assess albuminuria. Other information obtained included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c ), random capillary glucose, time since diagnosis, medication and family history of DM or HTN.

RESULTS: A total of 193 participants were included (DM group: n = 33; HTN group: n = 92; DM/HTN group: n = 68). The participants in the DM group used insulin more frequently as diabetes medication than the DM/HTN group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the DM group was younger and had lower BMI, WC and BP than the two other groups. In the DM group, HTN group and DM/HTN group, microalbuminuria was found in 12.1%, 19.6% and 29.4% (P = 0.11), and macroalbuminuria was found in 0.0%, 3.3% and 13.2% (P = 0.014), respectively. The urine albumin (P = 0.014) and albumin-creatinine ratio (P = 0.0006) differed between the three groups.

CONCLUSION: This hospital-based survey in rural Zambia found a lower frequency of albuminuria among the participants than in previous studies of patients with DM or HTN in urban sub-Saharan Africa.