Erythrocyte sedimentation rate in glomerular disease: association with urinary protein

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) correlated significantly with the total urinary protein (TUP) in 24-hour urine collections in patients with glomerular disease (p less than 0.05 to p less than 0.001). The relationship was linear for all patients with a glomerular process but no longer held true once the patients were treated with immunosuppressives, or when the underlying disease excluded the glomerulus. The association between ESR and TUP was generally of the magnitude ESR = TUP X 10. ESR was not correlated with creatinine clearance. Multiple factors cause an increased ESR. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an association between ESR and proteinuria.