Prevalence and risk factors for microalbuminuria in a population-based sample of children and adolescents with T1DM in Western Australia

Objective: To define the prevalence and describe the natural history of microalbuminuria (MA) in a population‐based sample of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Methods: Children with T1DM diagnosed ≤16 yrs and screened for MA were identified through the Western Australia diabetes register. Three‐monthly hemoglobin (HbA1c) was performed from diagnosis. MA screening (albumin excretion rate in three timed overnight samples) was performed yearly after 10 yrs of age or after 5 yrs from diagnosis. Cox proportional model assessed the risk of different variables on the occurrence of MA. Kaplan–Meier survival analyses (log‐rank test) estimated the probability of developing MA. Results: Nine hundred and fifty‐five T1DM children (462 male), mean diabetes duration of 7.6 yrs and mean age at onset of diabetes of 8.5 yrs were selected for the study. MA, mean albumin excretion rate ≥20 and