The usefulness of the revised classification for chronic kidney disease by the KDIGO for determining the frequency of diabetic micro- and macroangiopathies in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aims: A new classification of chronic kidney disease (CKD) was proposed by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) in 2011. The major point of revision of this classification was the introduction of a two-dimensional staging of the CKD according to the level of albuminuria in addition to the GFR level. Furthermore, the previous CKD stage 3 was subdivided into two stages (G3a and G3b). We examined the prevalence of diabetic micro- and macroangiopathies in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus based on the new classification.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 2018 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Results: All of the diabetic micro- and macroangiopathies significantly more common in the later stages of both the GFR and albuminuria. The proportion of subjects with diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy, cerebrovascular disease and coronary heart disease was significantly higher in the G3b group than in the G3a group. The brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, which is one of the surrogate markers for atherosclerosis, was also significantly greater in the G3b group compared to the G3a group.

Conclusion: The subdivision of the G3 stage in the revised classification proposed by the KDIGO is useful to evaluate the risk for diabetic vascular complications.