Albuminuria as a marker of kidney and cardio-cerebral vascular damage. Isle of Youth Study (ISYS), Cuba.

Introduction: The disease complex comprised of atherosclerosis, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other associated chronic vascular diseases is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Microalbuminuria is a marker for vascular damage in the heart, kidney and brain. This paper presents selected findings of the clinical-epidemiological Isle of Youth Study (ISYS) of markers for kidney and vascular damage from chronic vascular diseases and their common risk factors in total population, focusing on Phase 2 reassessment (in 2010) of Phase 1 (2004 to 2006) results.

Objectives: (1) Update the prevalence of risk factors in the study population aged ≥20 years (adult population). (2) Confirm presence of microalbuminuria in at-risk adults diagnosed as presumptive positives in Phase I. (3) Evaluate association between microalbuminuria and selected risk factors.

Methods: Of 3779 adults positive for microalbuminuria in ISYS Phase 1, 73.1% were reevaluated. The risk-factor questionnaire was re-administered and blood pressure, weight and height were measured. Blood was tested for creatinine, glycemia, cholesterol and triglycerides. Glomerular filtration rate was calculated using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula. Albuminuria was measured in urine using Micral-Test (Germany) and albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) by nephelometry. This paper uses ACR as the reference for analyzing risk factor associations. Double-entry tables were developed to analyze association among microalbuminuria, risk factors and co-morbidities.

Results: Most prevalent risks were hypertension, consumption of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), excess weight and hypertriglyceridemia. Microalbuminuria was confirmed in 18% of cases, using the same test. Elevated prevalence of microalbuminuria was positively associated with advancing age, male sex, underweight, smoking, NSAID use, dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Conclusions: The at-risk cohort studied presented low levels of confirmation for positive microalbuminuria. Positive microalbuminuria stratified individuals at greatest risk, except for obesity.