NORMAL VALUES OF OVERNIGHT ALBUMIN EXCRETION RATE IN A SAMPLE OF HEALTHY ITALIAN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

The aim of this study was to define normal values of albumin excretion rate (AER) in young people, We measured overnight timed AER (tAER, mu g/min) by a double-antibody radioimmunoassay in 281 healthy Italian c hildren and adolescents (160 M and 121 F), aged 7-19 years. The freque ncy distribution of tAER deviated from normality, therefore percentile s were used: median and 95(th) percentile were 2.3 and 6.9 mu g/min re spectively, Log transformed tAER was not related to age or pubertal st age. ''Borderline'' AER refers to AER higher than normal 95(th) percen tile in non-diabetic subjects but lower than microalbuminuria threshol d level. Incipient nephropathy, expressed as ''borderline'' AER, has b een reported in adult IDDM patients, and can be reversed by improving metabolic control. Because incipient diabetic nephropathy may be prese nt in young IDDM patients without microalbuminuria, screening for AER should be recommended for pediatric diabetic patients, also before pub erty, in order to detect early renal damage and the ''borderline'' AER state.