AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 AbstractNov 9, 2026, 00:44 GMT

Urine protein linked to cardiovascular deaths in US adults

A urine protein measure of 10–29 mg/g was linked to 65% higher cardiovascular mortality than values below 10 mg/g in adults without diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

Paper by Nathasith Tangprasittichok, Nisarat Suparatchatpan, Pitchamon Inkong · Mahidol University · Phramongkutklao Hospital

Urine droplets with dense and sparse protein molecules sit beside a fragmented gray heart and an intact dark blue-green heart, respectively.

Our read

Biomarkers

Studied:: Cohort study of 43,989 U.S. adults excluding those with overt CVD, maximum 8.3 years (Dose-response)
What changed:: Cardiovascular mortality was 65% higher with high-normal urine protein of 10-29 mg/g
In the record:: The 378th paper on estimated glomerular filtration rate with results in people; 1,865 on record in all.

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper

Among 43,989 US adults without clinically apparent heart or blood vessel disease, an observational study linked 1999–2018 health surveys to death records through 2019. Follow-up lasted up to 8.3 years.

Researchers grouped adults using cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome stages, a framework linking heart health, kidney health and how the body processes energy. Cardiovascular death rates across stages 0–3 were 7.3, 6.5, 19.3 and 43.2 per 1,000 years of combined follow-up, respectively. Stage 2 was associated with cardiovascular, but not overall, mortality after adjustment. Within stage 2, elevated urine albumin, a blood protein, was linked to higher cardiovascular mortality; reduced kidney filtration alone showed no excess risk. Researchers measured albumin relative to creatinine, a waste product, in urine. Among adults without diabetes or cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular mortality risk rose across increasing ratio categories, starting below the current 30 mg/g diagnostic threshold.

Why it matters

Cardiovascular disease threatens health in later life. The authors suggested routine urine albumin screening to assess risk and revising stage 2’s kidney-disease definition.

Caveats

Other health differences between adults with higher and lower urine albumin could have contributed to the association despite adjustment for age, sex, race or ethnicity, and smoking. The conference report’s low-level urine-albumin analysis excluded adults with diabetes or cardiovascular disease.