Third, weight to age, which is an important indicator for malnutrition clinical diagnosis, was positively correlated with other physical indicators, including the white cell number (Rpearson = 0.232, Padj = 0.001), the hemoglobin level (Rpearson = 0.502, Padj = 0.001), the lymphocyte number (Rpearson = 0.266, Padj = 0.001), the serum total protein (TP) level (Rpearson = 0.243, Padj = 0.001), the albumin level (Rpearson = 0.235, Padj = 0.001) and the Ca level (Rpearson = 0.186, Padj = 0.001, Fig. 5a). This evidence concerns the gene ALB and malnutrition.