Urine Albumin/Creatinine Ratio
The amount of albumin leaking into urine, an early sign of kidney or blood vessel damage.
| Typical reference range | below 29 mg/g |
| Commonly cited optimal range | below 10 mg/g |
Ranges vary by laboratory, method, age and sex: always use the range printed on your own report. Why labs differ.
What it measures
Healthy kidneys keep albumin in the blood. UACR measures albumin in a spot urine sample, divided by urine creatinine to correct for how concentrated the urine is.
Why it matters
Elevated UACR is often the earliest sign of kidney damage from diabetes or high blood pressure, appearing before eGFR falls. It also independently predicts cardiovascular disease.
What a high result can mean
Values of 30-300 mg/g indicate moderately increased albuminuria and above 300 severely increased. Causes include diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease and metabolic syndrome; vigorous exercise, fever, urinary infection, menstrual contamination and very high protein intake can temporarily raise it.
What a low result can mean
Low values are normal and desirable.
What affects the result
A first-morning sample is preferred. Because of day-to-day variability, two of three samples over 3-6 months should be elevated to confirm. Blood pressure control, glucose control and medications like ACE inhibitors, ARBs and SGLT2 inhibitors reduce albuminuria.
Units and conversion
Usually reported in mg/g.
- From mg/g creat: multiply by 1 to get mg/g
- From ug/mg: multiply by 1 to get mg/g
- From mg/mmol: multiply by 8.84 to get mg/g
Also called on lab reports
Albumin/Creatinine Ratio, Microalbumin/Creatinine Ratio, UACR, Albumin/Creatinine Ratio, Random Urine, Microalb/Creat Ratio, Alb/Creat Ratio, Alb/Creat Ratio, Random, Microalbumin/Creatinine Ratio, Random Urine, ACR
Related tests: Kidney Function
This page is educational and does not replace advice from a healthcare professional.