Predictors of the rate of renal function decline in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

A multivariate analysis of 263 Mexican-American, African-American, and Non-Hispanic white non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients with end-stage renal disease revealed that in subjects following a linear course of decline of renal function, Mexican-American ethnicity (p = 0.0503) and female sex (p = 0.0036) hasten the rate of decline of renal function, while age (p = 0.0004), hypertension duration (p = 0.0058), and diabetes duration (p = 0.0587) slow the rate of decline of renal function. Blood pressure and glycemic control do not predict the rate of decline. These data suggest that ethnicity and sex-related factors may be as important as blood pressure and glycemic control during the course of non-insulin-dependent diabetic nephropathy.