Still under debate is the prevalence of microalbuminuria in patients with recently diagnosed Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and its relation to existing macro-vascular disease and the major vascular risk markers. Hence, from a representative sample of 1512 patients with Type 2 diabetes of varied duration (recruited from 22 non-specialized medical practices of the Greater Munich Area) 68 (26 males, 42 females) of 71 eligible subjects with a known duration of diabetes of up to 17 weeks and not less than 4 weeks were examined in the present study. Median age was 61 (39 to 75) years, prevalence of ischaemic heart disease (case history plus ECG, Minnesota code, Whitehall criteria) 41.2%, and that of peripheral vascular and carotid artery disease (both assessed by ultrasound-Doppler) were 35.3 and 4.4%, respectively. Diabetes was well controlled (HbA1c: 6.9%, 5.6-8.3; fasting blood glucose: 7.7 mmol/l, 5.4-10.4; median +/- interquartile range IQ), the cardiovascular risk profile was most prominent in terms of triglycerides (3.1 mmol/l, 2.1-4.6, median +/- IQ range) and systolic blood pressure (164 mm Hg, 140-186, median +/- IQ range). 13.2% showed signs of urinary tract infection. Of the remainder, 19.0% exhibited microalbuminuria (RIA, > 30-200 mg/l), and 5.2% macroalbuminuria (> 200 mg/l). Significant correlations (p < 0.05) were found between urinary albumin concentration and beta 2-microglobulin in serum, systolic blood pressure, serum triglycerides, serum HDL-cholesterol (inversely), HbA1c, and peripheral vascular disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)