Chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains a major global health burden, particularly among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), where reduced kidney function and albuminuria frequently coexist. A cross-sectional genetic analysis published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care evaluated the shared genetic architecture of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) in the general population and among individuals with T2DM.

The study analyzed 432,451 UK Biobank participants of predominantly European ancestry, including a subgroup of 16,265 individuals with T2DM. Investigators examined 423 previously identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with eGFR and assessed their associations with eGFR estimated using the 2021 race-free CKD-Epidemiology Collaboration creatinine equation (eGFR2021) and UACR.

Findings

• In the overall population, 422 loci were nominally associated with eGFR2021, and 75 were also nominally associated with UACR.
• Twelve shared loci remained statistically significant after Bonferroni correction in the overall cohort.
• In the T2DM subgroup, 76 loci were nominally associated with eGFR2021, of which 6 also showed nominal association with UACR.
• One shared locus in the T2DM subgroup remained significant after Bonferroni correction.
• Two pleiotropic loci, GSTA2 and USP2-AS1, suggested potential diabetes-specific genetic effects related to kidney disease.

Several shared genetic loci were associated with both kidney function and albuminuria in the general population and among individuals with T2DM. The findings support overlapping biological pathways underlying reduced eGFR and albuminuria and may help inform future CKD risk stratification and therapeutic target development.