ALB and hypertensive disorder: Previous cross-sectional studies have described the association between serum albumin and the risk of hypertension, and it has been suggested that serum albumin concentrations have been identified as protective factors against cardiovascular disease and are involved in several biologically active processes, such as maintenance of blood colloid permeation, transport and binding of various metabolites in vivo, and extracellular oxidative defense (2, 15).