Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients in different groups.
| DN (n=49) | Proteinuric controls (MN/MCD, n=29) | P | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DN alone (n=42) | DN + MN (n=7) | DM + MN/MCD (n=10) | MN/MCD (n=19) | |||
| Age, years | 45.9±11.1 | 53.9±9.8 | 58.6±9.4* | 46.9±14.1 | 0.013 | |
| Male, n (%) | 33 (78.6) | 5 (71.4) | 6 (60.0) | 14 (73.7) | 0.680 | |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 25.2±4.4 | 25.7±0.7 | 24.9±2.2 | 24.3±2.8 | 0.754 | |
| Diabetes duration, years | 10.5±6.3 | 7.3±7.0 | 7.9±6.6 | - | 0.300 | |
| HbA1c, % | 7.8±1.9 | 6.8±1.2 | 7.6±1.5 | - | 0.568 | |
| Diabetic retinopathy, n/n (%) | 30/40 (75.0) | 2/5 (40.0) | 3/10 (30.0)* | - | 0.016 | |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 35 (83.3) | 4 (57.1) | 7 (70.0) | 7 (36.8)* | 0.004 | |
| Systolic BP, mmHg | 144.0±21.4 | 125.9±10.3 | 125.4±12.0* | 127.8±15.0* | 0.001 | |
| Diastolic BP, mmHg | 85.7±12.7 | 82.0±7.9 | 81.2±9.1 | 77.2±12.1 | 0.082 | |
| Serum creatinine, μmol/L | 128.5 (95.9–296.9) | 88.6 (78.3–120.7) | 77.6 (62.9–92.4)* | 75.8 (62.0–95.9)* | <0.001 | |
| Serum albumin, g/L | 32.1±6.3 | 23.6±2.3* | 26.0±7.8* | 23.7±5.9* | <0.001 | |
| Urine protein, g/24 h | 5.7±3.7 | 8.8±4.5 | 4.7±3.4 | 6.6±5.1 | 0.203 | |
| Hematuria, n (%) | 23(54.8) | 5(71.4) | 2 (20.0) | 9(47.4) | 0.150 | |
| Urinary NAG, U/L | 39.5 (21.3–55.8) | 37.0 (20.0–61.8) | 37.0 (22.5–66.0) | 59.0 (33.5–124.5) | 0.697 | |
| Urinary α1-MG, mg/L | 47.3 (17.8–115.8) | 45.5 (21.2–69.4) | 21.1 (8.2–43.9) | 25.0 (17.9–79.9) | 0.248 | |
Data are presented as n (%), or mean ± SD or median (interquartile range). P values were estimated using ANOVA followed by Student’s t test, or Mann-Whitney rank sum test or chi-square test wherever applicable with Bonferroni correction. P values listed in the table are ANOVA comparing four groups and P<0.05 are shown in bold. P>0.05 indicates that there is no statistical significance among four groups. *, P<0.05 compared to DN. BMI, body mass index; BP, blood pressure; DN, diabetic nephropathy; DM, diabetic mellitus; MN, membranous nephropathy; MCD, minimal change disease. Normal range: HbA1c, Glycated hemoglobin: 4.0–6.0%; serum albumin: 40–55 g/L; serum creatinine: 44–133 μmol/L; urine protein: 0–0.15 g/24 h; urinary NAG, urinary N-acetyl-b-D-glucosaminidase: 0–21 U/L; urinary α1-MG, urinary α1-microglobulin: 0–12 mg/L.