Urine albumin, corrected Urine Albumin/Creatinine Ratio (ACR)
The protein in your urine, corrected for how watery the sample was.
Also printed asAlbumin-Creatinine Ratio · ACR · UACR · Urine Albumin Creatinine Ratio · Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio
What it measures
Urine albumin divided by urine creatinine, which cancels out how dilute the sample was.
The number kidney guidelines actually use to stage early kidney damage, and a warning sign for the heart as well.
Why it matters for how long you stay well
Together with your filtering rate it is how kidney health is actually staged, and catching a rise here early is one of the highest-value things a routine panel can do for the decades ahead.
How it shows up in daily life
This is the number worth remembering rather than the raw albumin, because it cannot be fooled by how much you drank.
High and low readings
When it reads high
The kidney filter is letting protein through; a repeat sample confirms it before anything is concluded.
When it reads low
Low is good.
What moves it
Daily life
- blood pressure
- blood sugar
- salt intake
- exercise, fever or infection on the day of the sample
Medicines known to shift it
- blood-pressure medicines (lower it)
- GLP-1 medicines (lower it)
Listed so a result can be read in context. It is not advice to start, stop or change any medicine; that decision belongs with your physician.
Read it with
Markers that move this one, or that this one moves. One number read alone can mislead.
- Albumin in your urineKnown mechanism
Albumin in your urine is part of its calculation
The raw albumin result is divided by your urine creatinine. That correction stops a very dilute or very concentrated sample from telling you the wrong thing.
- Urine creatinineKnown mechanism
Urine creatinine pulls it down
A concentrated sample has more creatinine in it, which pulls the corrected ratio down. That is not a fault; that is the correction doing its job.
- eGFR, your kidney filtering rateObserved association
As this rises, eGFR moves with it
Albumin appearing in urine is the early warning, and a falling filtering rate is the later one. That is why the two together stage your kidneys, not either alone.
Common questions
What does Urine Albumin/Creatinine Ratio measure?
Urine albumin divided by urine creatinine, which cancels out how dilute the sample was. The number kidney guidelines actually use to stage early kidney damage, and a warning sign for the heart as well.
What does a high Urine albumin result usually mean?
The kidney filter is letting protein through; a repeat sample confirms it before anything is concluded.
What does a low Urine albumin result usually mean?
Low is good.
What is the usual reference range for Urine albumin?
A broad adult reference band is below 30 mg/g. Labs differ, so read your result against the band printed on your own report.
Educational only, not a diagnosis. A single number means little without your history and the rest of your panel, so discuss your own results with your physician.
Typical adult reference band
- Adults
- below 30 mg/g
Labs differ. The band printed on your own report is the one that applies to your result.
Reported in mg/g, mg/g Creatinine, mg/mmol
Ageing relevance
4/5
A strong independent predictor of illness and mortality in large cohorts.
Worth knowing
Albumin can appear in urine years before the filtering rate itself starts to drop.
Have a report with this marker on it? Read it in context.
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