How common is diabetic nephropathy?

In a study of 1,356 diabetic patients attending a clinic in a 12 month period, 28 (2.1%) were considered to have definite diabetic nephropathy by strict diagnostic criteria. This suggests that the prevalence of overt nephropathy is less than has been previously reported. This may be because many patients with microalbuminuria or early proteinuria do not survive to develop the syndrome of established diabetic nephropathy.