Kidney Failure Risk Factor: Urine Albumin-Creatinine Ratio (uACR) (2024)

FAQs

Kidney Failure Risk Factor: Urine Albumin-Creatinine Ratio (uACR)? ›

Anything above 30 mg/g may mean you have kidney disease, even if your estimated glomerular filtration (eGFR) number is above 60. A high uACR may be an early sign of kidney disease, but your healthcare team will check you again to make sure albuminuria is not caused by something else.

Anything above 30 mg/g may indicate a higher risk of kidney failure or cardiovascular events [2]. It's important to note that an Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio (ACR) of 300 mg/g or higher indicates an increased risk of developing kidney and heart issues [2].

High levels may indicate kidney damage or disease. Regular testing and managing health can help protect kidney function.

In spot urine specimens, normal level of UACR is below 30 mg/g. The normal UACR value is less than or equal to 17 mg/g in men but in women, the level is observed to be higher ranging around 25 mg/g. Value of 30 to 300 mg/g in the spot urine is considered as presence of microalbuminuria.

Among women of similar age and kidney function, estimated life expectancy was 28.9 (95% CI: 28.7-29.1), 19.8 (95% CI: 19.2-20.3), and 14.8 (95% CI: 13.5-16.0) years for participants with normal, mild and heavy albuminuria respectively.

High creatinine levels that reach 2.0 or more in babies and 5.0 or more in adults may indicate severe kidney impairment. Any creatinine blood test level that is over 1.3 should be investigated to determine the cause.

Volume of water intake positively correlated to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and negatively correlated to urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR), as well as plasma osmolality and urine osmolality, although the correlations were weak.

Exercise and follow a healthy diet that's low in sodium, saturated fat, and sugar, but high in fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish, and poultry. Avoid highly processed foods. Stay at a healthy weight. Lose weight if your healthcare team says that you should.

What to know about high creatinine levels. High creatinine levels can indicate a range of underlying health conditions, including kidney infection and kidney failure. Doctors typically consider high creatinine levels to be above 1.2 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) for males and 1.0 mg/dL for females.

Drinking water will not treat the cause of protein in your urine unless you are dehydrated. Drinking water will dilute your urine (water down the amount of protein and everything else in your urine), but will not stop the cause of your kidneys leaking protein.

What does UACR tell you? ›

Urine Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio (UACR)

Assess urine albumin excretion yearly to diagnose and monitor kidney damage in patients with type 1 diabetes for five years or more or with type 2 diabetes. More frequent monitoring may be indicated in patients with changing clinical status or after therapeutic interventions.

Twelve studies were included for the meta-analyses that assessed dipstick accuracy for the cutoff point of ACR >30 mg/g [22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35], and the pooled estimate gave a sensitivity and specificity of 0.82 (95% CI 0.76–0.87) and 0.88 (95% CI 0.83–0.91), respectively.

UACR is a ratio between two measured substances. Unlike a dipstick test for albumin, UACR is unaffected by variation in urine concentration. Albuminuria1 is present when UACR is greater than 30 mg/g and is a marker for CKD.

Either an ARB or ACE inhibitor is appropriate for treatment of albuminuria, with no clear advantage of one over the other. Because tolerability issues such as cough, angioedema, or rash may limit use of ACE inhibitors, ARBs would be preferred over ACE inhibitors on that basis.

A normal amount of albumin in your urine is less than 30 mg a day. A normal total protein amount in your urine is less than 150 mg a day. If your test shows high levels of urine albumin, or a rise in urine albumin, it could mean you have kidney damage or disease.

In Stage 1 CKD, the damage to your kidneys is mild. Your kidneys are still working well, but you may have signs of kidney damage or physical damage to your kidneys. Stage 1 CKD means you have a normal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 90 or greater, but there is protein in your urine (i.e., your pee).

Any value above 20:1 indicates that you are dehydrated, and may also be developing kidney-related or other health issues. A BUN/creatinine ratio of 50:1 or above is dangerously high that requires immediate medical attention. Ratios of 100:1 and above indicate serious kidney dysfunction.

Albuminuria means that there is more albumin in the urine than there should be, which means the kidneys can be damaged. An ACR below 30 is considered normal. An ACR between 30-300 means you have moderately increased albuminuria. An ACR above 300 means you have severely increased albuminuria.

A normal albumin range is 3.4 to 5.4 g/dL. If you have a lower albumin level, you may have malnutrition. It can also mean that you have liver disease, kidney disease, or an inflammatory disease. Higher albumin levels may be caused by acute infections, burns, and stress from surgery or a heart attack.

Second, fluid status absolutely affects the levels of BUN and creatinine in the blood, but volume depletion (what your doctor means when he says you are “dehydrated”) tends to affect BUN more, so that we see a BUN:creatinine ratio of 20:1 or more in people who are very dry.