UC San Diego

Background

Albuminuria is highly prevalent among older adults, especially those with diabetes. It is associated with several chronic diseases, but its overall impact on the health of older adults, as measured by hospitalization, has not been quantified.

Method

We followed up 3,110 adults, mean age 78 years, for a median 9.75 years, of whom 654 (21%) had albuminuria (≥30 mg albumin/gram creatinine) at baseline. Poisson regression models, adjusted for cardiovascular, renal, and demographic factors, were used to evaluate the association of albuminuria with all-cause and cause-specific hospitalizations, as defined by ICD, version 9, categories.

Results

The rates of hospitalization per 100 patient-years were 65.85 for participants with albuminuria and 37.55 for participants without albuminuria. After adjustment for covariates, participants with albuminuria were more likely to be hospitalized for any cause than participants without albuminuria (incident rate ratio, 1.39 [95% confidence intervals, 1.27. 1.53]) and to experience more days in hospital (incident rate ratio 1.56 [1.37, 1.76]). The association of albuminuria with hospitalization was similar among participants with and without diabetes (adjusted incident rate ratio for albuminuria versus no albuminuria: diabetes 1.37 [1.11, 1.70], no diabetes 1.40 [1.26, 1.55]; p interaction nonsignificant). Albuminuria was significantly associated with hospitalization for circulatory, endocrine, genitourinary, respiratory, and injury categories.

Conclusions

Albuminuria in older adults is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for a broad range of illnesses. Albuminuria in the presence or absence of diabetes appears to mark a generalized vulnerability to diseases of aging among older adults.