Medical News: Protein in Urine Presages More Severe Problems – in Nephrology, ESRD from MedPage Today

The three-year risk of death, heart attack, and kidney failure was markedly increased in patients with baseline proteinuria, regardless of their estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), researchers said.

In a population-based study of nearly 1 million people, mortality was approximately doubled with heavy proteinuria among individuals stratified according to their eGFR, reported Brenda R. Hemmelgarn, MD, PhD, of the University of Calgary in Canada, and colleagues.

Rates of myocardial infarction were increased by about 50% with heavy proteinuria, and end-stage renal disease and doubled levels of serum creatinine were as much as 30 times more common, the researchers reported in the Feb. 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.