ALB and hypertensive disorder: Prospective data on proteinuria and mortality among the general population are limited.14 A number of prospective epidemiologic studies have reported that proteinuria or urinary albumin is a predictor of death for those with diabetes1-14 and hypertension.10,15-18 Most of the prospective studies on urinary protein or albumin and mortality were conducted in European countries2,5,6,9,12,14,15 and in the United States.3,11,16 The results of our study are unique because the study subjects were composed of a representative cohort of the Japanese population.