URINARY ALBUMIN EXCRETION IN A POPULATION-BASED COHORT

In order to compare a 1-h daytime urine specimen collection with a tim ed overnight collection, as well as different ways of expressing urina ry albumin excretion: (urinary albumin excretion rate (UAE), urinary a lbumin concentration (UAC), and urinary albumin creatinine ratio (UACR )), a population of 922 people of whom 35 had diabetes was examined. T he median age was 47 (range 26-65) years. The results of the different ways of collecting urine specimens and the different expressions of u rinary albumin excretion were related to known cardiovascular risk fac tors. The daytime collection showed higher values of urinary albumin e xcretion than the overnight collections. Systolic blood pressure was a n important risk factor correlated to UAE and UACR in the day as well as the overnight collection, followed by HbA(1C) in the total group an d by BMI in the non-diabetic group. UAC showed significant relation to triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol. In conclusion, urinary albumin in a 1-h daytime collection showed a similar correlation to cardiovascula r risk factors as the excretion of albumin in overnight collected urin e. Follow-up studies are needed to compare day collections of urine as predictors of cardiovascular disease and early death with overnight c ollections.