Microalbuminuria in very old patients

In this study, we examined the prevalence and the amount of microalbuminuria in 59 very old subjects above 80 years (study group) and in age-matched subgroups of hypertensive (n=12) and non-insulin dependent diabetic (n=12) patients. In the study group, patients admitted with medical disorders other than renal, cardiovascular or malignant were included. Microalbuminuria was defined as urinary excretion of albumin in 24 h samples above 30 mg/24 h. Mean values for albumin excretion were 21.5±34.5 mg/24 h in the study group, 49.4±78.0 mg/24 h in the hypertension and 23.7±30.6 mg/24 h in the diabetic group (differences not significant). 11 out of 59 people of the study group (18.6%), and 3 out of 12 patients of the hypertension and the diabetes group (25%), respectively, exhibited an elevated albuminuria, indicating that the prevalence of pathological albumin excretion was similar between the three groups. Besides blood pressure, which was only elevated in the hypertension group according to the selection criteria, significant differences in age, serum creatinine or creatinine clearance were not found between the groups. We conclude that microalbuminuria is frequently found in very old patients with a prevalence of 18–25% and that risk factors such as hypertension or diabetes mellitus do not further enhance the high prevalence of albuminuria in the high age.