Prevalence of increased albumin excretion rate in young Saudi adults

Introduction: Albuminuria is an important risk predictor of chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. In this study, we aim to evaluate the prevalence of increased urinary albumin excretion (UAE) rate amongst a subgroup of young Saudi army/navy recruits. Methods: 2,000 Saudi military recruits were tested for microalbuminuria by dipstick and 24-hour urine collection for quantitative evaluation. Results: In the whole group studied, the rate of microalbuminuria-positive dipstick testing was 10.3% (n = 206), but decreased on quantitative evaluation of 24-hour urine collection to 6.2% (n = 124). Increased UAE was independently associated with diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HT), obesity, male gender and hypercholesterolemia. 55 of the 124 (44.4%) were diabetics while 14 (11.3%) were hypertensives. Around 21% of individuals with albuminuria were obese; body mass index for the whole group with albuminuria = 31.15 ± 5.8 kg/m2 and showed no gender difference. Increased risk of albuminuria was noted with DM (OR = 5.07 [3.5-7.4], p < 0.0001), obesity (OR = 1.59 [1.0-2.5], p = 0.042) and HT (OR = 1.8 [1.0-3.2], p = 0.046). An estimated glomerular filtration rate of ∼77 ml/min/1.73 m2 was present in the whole group with a significantly lower level in macroalbuminuric subjects compared to those with microalbuminuria (p = 0.03). Also, age was higher in the macroalbuminuric group (p = 0.004) with comparable prevalence of DM (47.4 vs. 45.2%, p = NS). Conclusions: This is the first description of increased UAE in a small percentage of young adult Arab subjects from Saudi Arabia detected through a selective screening process carried out on potential army recruits. It highlights the association of albuminuria in the general population with predisposing conditions such as DM, HT and obesity. Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG.