Albuminuria is established using a sensitive method to measure the amount of albumin in urine. The easiest and most common way is to take a sample when you first have a pee in the morning to determine the urine albumin-creatinine ratio of the blood in urine. The abbreviation of urine albumin-creatinine ratio is U-AlbKrea (uACR or ACR in English). If the level is repeatedly over 3 mg/mmol, it is a sign of increased albumin secretion.
Because the secretion of albumin varies, a positive result must be verified and albuminuria must be established in two out of three samples in an examination performed over a period of 3–6 months.
The most exact method is to determine the secretion of albumin to the urine based on a night urine. The abbreviations used are cU-Alb or nU-Alb. A repeatedly higher than 20 µg/min level is a sign of increased albumin secretion.
Albuminuria is severe if U-AlbKrea is over 30 mg/mmol or if the level of albumin in night urine (cU-Alb) is over 200 µg/min. The same amount of protein is also present in a standard urine strip test (U-KemSeul).
In the hours leading up a urine test, you should avoid strenuous physical exertion, and the test should not be conducted during an inflammatory disease or the menstrual period.