Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of chronic renal disease; early referral to the nephrologist is recommended as the outcome is worse in patients with late referral. Objectives: To determine clinical characteristics of diabetic patients upon their first nephrologic consultation. Design: Multicenter, observational and analytical study. Setting: Hospital Nacional 2 de Mayo, Hospital Nacional Arzobispo Loayza, Hospital Daniel Alcides Carrion and Hospital Maria Auxiliadora. Participants: Diabetic patients. Interventions: Diabetic patients were studied between September 2011 and February 2012. Percentages were used to describe frequencies and standard deviations. Main outcome measures: Clinical characteristics of diabetes patients. Results: From 200 diabetic patients with 12.9 years mean time to diagnosis 73% had received education for self-care, 40% reported not taking the...