Effect of intensive diabetes treatment on albuminuria in type 1 diabetes: long-term follow-up of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial and Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications study

Intensive diabetes treatment reduces the risk of developing albuminuria in individuals with type 1 diabetes. Effects on the long-term clinical course of kidney disease remain to be defined. We aimed to compare the long-term effects of intensive versus conventional treatment on incident albuminuria.

For this long-term follow-up study of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) we assessed the effect of intensive diabetes treatment on albuminuria during 18 years after the completion of the trial. During the DCCT (1983—1993), 1441 participants with type 1 diabetes were randomly assigned to receive either intensive treatment (with the goal of achieving levels of glycaemia as close to the non-diabetic range as safely possible) or conventional treatment (aimed at prevention of symptoms of hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia). Read more