Reference values of urine protein/creatinine ratio in healthy Dalian adults

The urine protein/creatinine ratio (UPCR) is commonly used in current clinical practice. However, there are only few published clinical data on UPCR from large cohorts of Chinese adults. This study aimed to determine the overall and age- and sex-specific UPCR reference values for healthy Dalian adults.

According to the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute EP28-A3c guidelines, 1321 healthy Dalian adults (646 men and 675 women) aged 20-69 years were enrolled. Urine protein and creatinine levels were analyzed in the random morning spot urine samples, and UPCR was calculated. The 95th percentile of the UPCR was used as the normal upper limit. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to test differences among groups.

The UPCR reference value was 141.7 mg/g for the entire cohort, 128.7 mg/g for men, and 150.8 mg/g for women. In addition, women had relatively higher UPCR values than men in the same age group. We also compared the UPCR reference values between different estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) groups and found that women had significantly higher UPCR values than men in the normal eGFR groups.

This study provides the overall and age- and sex-specific UPCR reference values for healthy Dalian adults.