Diabetes mellitus, hypertension and albuminuria in rural Zambia: a hospital‐based survey

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