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On this page:

What is albuminuria?

Why is urine albumin important?

How is albuminuria detected?

How can albuminuria be reduced?

Clinical Trials

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Albuminuria is a sign of kidney disease and
means that you have too much albumin in your
urine. Albumin is a protein found in the blood.
A healthy kidney doesn’t let albumin pass from
the blood into the urine. A damaged kidney lets
some albumin pass into the urine. The less
albumin in your urine, the better.

Sometimes albuminuria is also called

proteinuria.

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More information is provided in the NIDDK

health topics, Diabetic Kidney Disease and
High Blood Pressure and Kidney Disease.

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Measurement of urine albumin is an important
tool for

diagnosing kidney disease

monitoring the progression of kidney

disease

Health care providers regularly test people for

albuminuria as part of a routine medical exam
and will closely monitor urine albumin in
people with kidney disease.

A urine albumin level that stays the same or

goes down may mean that treatments are
working. Treatment that lowers the urine
albumin level may lower the chances that
kidney disease will progress to kidney failure.

People who have diabetes, high blood pressure,

heart disease, or a family history of kidney
failure are at risk for kidney disease. Talk with
your health care provider about how often you
should get a urine test for albumin.

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A health care provider often tests for
albuminuria using a urine dipstick test
followed by a urine albumin and creatinine
measurement.

You will be asked to collect a urine sample in a

special container in your health care provider’s
o!ce or a commercial facility. The o!ce or
facility tests the sample onsite or sends it to a
lab for analysis.

Dipstick test for albumin. A dipstick test

performed on a urine sample can detect the
presence of albumin in the urine. For the test, a
nurse or technician places a dipstick, a strip of
chemically treated paper, into the urine. The
dipstick changes color if albumin is present in
the urine.

Albumin and creatinine measurement. A

health care provider uses this measurement to
determine the ratio between the albumin and
creatinine in the urine and to estimate the
amount of albumin excreted in 24 hours.
Creatinine is a waste product that is filtered in
the kidneys and excreted in the urine. Health
care providers consider a urine albumin-to-
creatinine ratio above 30 mg/g higher than
normal.

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You may be able to reduce the amount of
albumin in your urine by taking medicines that
lower blood pressure called ACE inhibitors or
ARBs. The names of these medicines end in -
pril or -sartan.

You may also be able to protect your kidneys

and reduce albuminuria by working with a
registered dietitian who can help you plan
meals and change your eating habits. The meal
plan may help you

lose weight, if you are overweight

avoid foods high in sodium or salt

eat the right amounts and types of protein

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The National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and
other components of the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) conduct and support research
into many diseases and conditions.

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Clinical trials are part of clinical research and
at the heart of all medical advances. Clinical
trials look at new ways to prevent, detect, or
treat disease. Researchers also use clinical
trials to look at other aspects of care, such as
improving the quality of life for people with
chronic illnesses. Find out if clinical trials are
right for you &.

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Clinical trials that are currently open and are
recruiting can be viewed at www.ClinicalTrials.
gov &.

Last Reviewed October 2016

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This content is provided as a service of the National

Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
(NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. NIDDK
translates and disseminates research findings to increase
knowledge and understanding about health and disease
among patients, health professionals, and the public.
Content produced by NIDDK is carefully reviewed by NIDDK
scientists and other experts.

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