Chong J, et al. - Given that contemporary classification systems do not define a healthy normal range for urinary albumin excretion, and a Western lifestyle-induced occult microvascular disease may imply that normal values for apparently healthy adults exceed optimal levels defined by mortality risk, so, researchers analyzed the distributions of albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR) and fractional excretion of albumin (FE_alb) among healthy young adults [ages 20–40 years]. The participants did not have cardiovascular disease or risk factors and were selected from the NHANES III cohort. Then, they examined the threshold for death risk prediction in the entire adult population sample across ACR/FE_alb classes corresponding to quartiles for healthy young adults. For healthy young adults, the ACR quartiles were identified to be 2.7, 4.2 and 5.9 mg/g in males and 3.8, 6.2 and 9.8 mg/g in females. There was no connection of rises in ACR below the medians for healthy young adults, with raised mortality or with cardiovascular risk factors, when examined in the entire adult population. Experts noted that increments above this threshold were independently related to mortality risk. Overall, an optimal range of albumin excretion (ACR < 6 mg/g and 4 mg/g for females and males, respectively) was defined in this study, on the basis of mortality risk in the whole adult population. However, those who fall within this range included only half of even apparently healthy young US adults.