Influence of pregnancy on progression of diabetic nephropathy and subsequent requirement of renal replacement therapy in female type I diabetic patients with impaired renal function

Abstract

The influence of pregnancy on the progression of diabetic nephropathy in diabetic women with pre-existing moderate renal insufficiency is a subject of considerable controversy in the literature. In four of five female patients with type I diabetes mellitus with pre-existing impaired renal function (creatinine clearance less than 80 ml/min), significant proteinuria (greater than 2 g/24 h urine) and hypertension we have found a further decline in renal function during pregnancy, with an increased deterioration rate of creatinine clearance in comparison to the time before and after pregnancy. The mean decline of the glomerular filtration rate was 1.8 ml/min per month during pregnancy and 1.4 ml/min per month postpartum until the start of dialysis treatment. The difference in the progression of diabetic nephropathy during and after pregnancy can be explained by increased hypertension during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, despite an intensified antihypertensive therapy. The long-term effect of pregnancy on renal function in our patients was therefore an earlier requirement for renal replacement therapy than would have been expected without pregnancy.