Abstract

Sustained and rapid loss of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is the predominant clinical feature of diabetic kidney disease and a requisite for the development of end-stage renal disease. While GFR trajectories have been studied in several diabetic and non-diabetic cohorts, whether rapid renal decline clusters in diabetic families has not been examined. To determine this, we estimated GFR (eGFR) from serum creatinine measurements obtained from 15,612 patients with diabetes at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center and established their renal function trajectories. Patients with rapid renal decline (eGFR slope <-5 ml/min/1.73m²/year) were then mapped to pedigrees using extensive genealogical records from the Utah Population Database to identify high-risk rapid renal decline pedigrees. We identified 2,127 (13.6%) rapid decliners with a median eGFR slope of -8.0 mL/min/1.73m²/year and 51 high-risk pedigrees (ranging in size from 1,450-24,501 members) with excess clustering of rapid renal decline. Familial analysis showed that rapid renal decline aggregates in these families and is associated with its increased risk among first-degree relatives. Further study of these families is necessary to understand the magnitude of the influence of shared familial factors, including environmental and genetic factors, on rapid renal decline in diabetes.