Albuminuria within the normal range can predict all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality

Background: Despite interest in low-grade albuminuria and poor clinical outcomes, evidence from a large-scale population is lacking. Therefore, we identified the association of low-grade albuminuria within the normal range with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CV) mortality. Methods: After excluding individuals with urine albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) ≥30 mg/g (n=6,094), this cohort study analyzed 43,396 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2016). Participants were divided into four quartiles of ACR. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, and the secondary outcome was CV mortality. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used. Results: During a median 7.9 years of follow-up, 3,516 (9.1%) participants died. Compared with the reference group (Q1, ACR