LCN2 and nutritional deficiency disease: Of note, neither pre- nor post-dialysis body mass index (BMI) was associated with pre-dialysis serum NGAL levels in HD patients of our study (S3 Table), likely because only few obese subjects were included in this study (mean BMI was 22.2 kg/m2), and also because congestive heart failure, hypotension and malnutrition might have caused inappropriate water retention and superficial elevation of BMI in some patients.