Urinary Infection and Albumin Excretion in Insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus: Implications for the Measurement of Microalbuminuria.

The frequency of urinary infection was determined using quantitative microbiology in 172 insulin-dependent diabetic patients repeatedly being tested for microalbuminuria over 18 months on at least six occasions. The point prevalence of urinary infection at first screening for microalbuminuria was 3 %. Over the period of study, 20 of the patients (12 %) showed evidence of urinary infection, defined as a pure growth of a recognized pathogen >10(7) l(-1). Infection was more common in women than men 120 % vs 5 %, p