Q: I am a 29 years old diabetic. My latest urine report shows protein in urine i.e. albumin ranging between 1+ and 3+. My blood urea and creatinine levels are normal. My kidney scan report has also came out to be normal. I have tested for a 24 hour urine albumin test and the result is 1115 mg/ 24 hour. Are my kidneys at any risk?

A:Even though your urea and creatinine is normal, you have almost 1 gram of protein in the urine. This is most likely secondary to diabetes. This is how usually diabetes affects the kidneys- which initially starts with microalbuminuria (<300 mg albumin/24hour) followed by macroalbuminuria and then over the course of years kidney function i.e. urea and creatinine gets affected. With your young age, it is very important that you are seen by a kidney doctor who can follow you regularly and start you on some medications to decrease the amount of protein in urine. Protein is the urine can cause progression of kidney disease and thus it is extremely important to control it. Also, if you have other risk factors like high blood pressure- they should be treated aggressively.