ALB and chronic kidney disease: DKD is characterized by increasing albuminuria that progresses from A1 category of the 2012 KDIGO classification of CKD (urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) 30–300 mg/g) to A2 (UACR 300 mg/g) and is followed by a gradual decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), leading to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) [9].