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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffA urine microalbumin test is a test to detect very small levels of a blood protein (albumin) in your urine. A microalbumin test is used to detect early signs of kidney damage in people who have a risk of kidney disease.
Healthy kidneys filter waste from your blood and keep the healthy components, such as proteins like albumin. Kidney damage can cause proteins to leak through your kidneys and leave your body in your urine. Albumin (al-BYOO-min) is one of the first proteins to leak when kidneys become damaged.
Microalbumin tests are recommended for people with an increased risk of kidney disease, such as those with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure.
- Microalbumin and microalbumin/creatinine ratio. Lab Tests Online. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/microalbumin. Accessed Nov. 8, 2012.
- Kidney disease: Causes. National Kidney Foundation. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/kidneydiscauses.cfm. Accessed Nov. 8, 2012.
- American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes - 2012. Diabetes Care. 2012;35(suppl):S11.
- Microalbumin, random, urine. Mayo Medical Laboratories. http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/81260. Accessed Nov. 8, 2012.
- Anderson CF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 21, 2012.
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