ALB and malnutrition: Malnutrition increases stroke risk in addition to established vascular risk factors; as shown in the U.S. Renal Data System registry, a cohort of 8920 patients with end-stage renal disease, in which three markers of malnutrition, that is, low weight (hazard ratio 1.09 (confidence interval 1.00–1.18) per 25% decrease), low serum albumin (1.43 (1.17–1.74) per g/dl decrease), and investigator judgment of undernourishment (1.27 (1.01–1.61)) independently predicted stroke risk [2].