Prevalence of microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetes mellitus in Ecuador: a systematic review and meta-analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70577/asce.v5i3.1010Keywords:
diabetes; kidney diseases; epidemiology; public health; EcuadorAbstract
In type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), kidney damage often progresses silently, and microalbuminuria—now classified as moderately elevated albuminuria—was one of the earliest markers for detecting it and predicting cardiovascular risk. In Ecuador, the true extent of this condition was unclear, as the available evidence was scattered across theses, institutional repositories, and studies using different methodologies. The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence of microalbuminuria in Ecuadorian adults with T2D through a systematic review and meta-analysis, and to explore the heterogeneity among the selected articles. This study followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, and the database search included PubMed, Ecuadorian repositories, and gray literature, since a large portion of the national literature was not indexed in international databases. Statistical analysis was performed using the R programming language via RStudio software; a random-effects model with logit transformation and the DerSimonian-Laird method were employed. As a result, 14 studies were identified, of which only two met the comparability criteria for the primary analysis; the pooled prevalence was 20.5%, with low heterogeneity when comparing the two studies. Upon incorporating a third study conducted in a hospital setting, the figure rose to 35.8%, and heterogeneity increased markedly, highlighting the influence of the clinical setting on the estimates. In outpatient settings, approximately one in five adults with type 2 diabetes in Ecuador had microalbuminuria. It was concluded that multicenter research with a standardized methodology is needed, covering the country’s different regions and incorporating participants’ self-reported ethnicity—an aspect that no study reported.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Yadira Maribel Cáceres Machado , Juan Sebastián Piedra Santana , Kevin David Calupiña Jácome , Ana Hilda Márquez de González , Lourdes Catalina Viñansaca Atancuri
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