A new study published in the Journal of Hypertension examined direct evidence for an association of microvascular endothelial dysfunction with albuminuria. In this population-based, diabetes-enriched Maastricht Study, cross-sectional associations of flicker light-induced retinal arteriolar dilation and heat-induced skin hyperemia with 24-hour albuminuria were evaluated. The results showed that the median [interquartile range] albuminuria was 6.5 [3.9-11.6] mg/24 h, while 8.2% of the participants had albuminuria at least 30 mg/24 h. Meanwhile, albuminuria was 1.168 times higher in participants in the quartile with the smallest flicker light-induced retinal arteriolar dilation relative to those with the greatest dilation; this association was stronger in participants with type-2 diabetes. Furthermore, each 100 percentage points lower heat-induced skin hyperemia was associated with a 1.022 (1.010-1.035) times greater albuminuria in patients with type-2 diabetes. On the contrary, this parameter was not associated with albuminuria in non-diabetic participants. It was stated that this is the first population-based study that provides direct evidence that microvascular endothelial dysfunction is associated with albuminuria, and that this association is stronger in individuals with than in those without type-2 diabetes.