['Data about the relationship of inflammation to nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus are scarce. In the present study, we test the hypothesis that inflammatory parameters are independently related to urinary albumin excretion (UAE) at early stages of nephropathy.', 'Sixty-five patients with type 2 diabetes with microalbuminuria (MAB) or mild proteinuria (protein < 1 g/d) were included. We analyzed serum concentrations of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), as well as urinary level of this cytokine.', 'Inflammatory parameters were significantly greater in patients with diabetes than controls; furthermore, urinary TNF-alpha levels increased significantly as nephropathy progressed. Median urinary TNF-alpha level was 7 pg/mg in normoalbuminurics, 13 pg/mg in microalbuminurics (P < 0.001), and 18 pg/mg in proteinurics (P < 0.001 versus normoalbuminuria and P < 0.01 versus MAB). Albuminuria was related to hs-CRP (r= 0.68; P < 0.001) and serum (r = 0.45; P < 0.01) and urinary TNF-alpha levels (r = 0.71; P < 0.001), but there was no association between serum and urinary TNF-alpha levels. Partial correlation analysis showed that hs-CRP level, urinary TNF-alpha level, duration of diabetes, and glycated hemoglobin level remained significantly associated with UAE. A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that UAE was significantly associated with hs-CRP level (P < 0.001), duration of diabetes (P < 0.001), urinary TNF-alpha level (P < 0.01), and glycated hemoglobin level (P < 0.05; adjusted R2 = 0.73; P < 0.001).'] Are inflammatory parameters independently associated with urinary albumin in type 2 diabetes mellitus?