Albumin

Also Known As

ALB

Formal Name

Albumin, serum

This article was last reviewed on

April 8, 2016.

This article waslast modified on July 1, 2018.

At a Glance

Why Get Tested?

To screen for and help diagnose a liver disorder or kidney disease; sometimes to evaluate nutritional status, especially in hospitalized patients

When To Get Tested?

Routinely as part of the blood tests done for a physical; when a healthcare practitioner thinks that you have symptoms of a liver disorder or kidney disease; sometimes when you have unintended weight loss, have symptoms associated with malnutrition, or prior to a planned surgery

Sample Required?

A blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm

Test Preparation Needed?

None

You may be able to find your test results on your laboratory's website or patient portal. However, you are currently at Lab Tests. You may have been directed here by your lab's website in order to provide you with background information about the test(s) you had performed. You will need to return to your lab's website or portal, or contact your healthcare practitioner in order to obtain your test results.

This Website is an award-winning patient education website offering information on laboratory tests. The content on the site, which has been reviewed by laboratory scientists and other medical professionals, provides general explanations of what results might mean for each test listed on the site, such as what a high or low value might suggest to your healthcare practitioner about your health or medical condition.

The reference ranges for your tests can be found on your laboratory report. They are typically found to the right of your results.

If you do not have your lab report, consult your healthcare provider or the laboratory that performed the test(s) to obtain the reference range.

Laboratory test results are not meaningful by themselves. Their meaning comes from comparison to reference ranges. Reference ranges are the values expected for a healthy person. They are sometimes called "normal" values. By comparing your test results with reference values, you and your healthcare provider can see if any of your test results fall outside the range of expected values. Values that are outside expected ranges can provide clues to help identify possible conditions or diseases.

While accuracy of laboratory testing has significantly evolved over the past few decades, some lab-to-lab variability can occur due to differences in testing equipment, chemical reagents, and techniques. This is a reason why so few reference ranges are provided on this site. It is important to know that you must use the range supplied by the laboratory that performed your test to evaluate whether your results are "within normal limits."

For more information, please read the article Reference Ranges and What They Mean.

What is being tested?

Albumin is a protein made by the liver. It makes up about 60% of the total protein in the blood and plays many roles. This test measures the level of albumin in the blood.

Albumin keeps fluid from leaking out of blood vessels; nourishes tissues; and transports hormones, vitamins, drugs, and substances like calcium throughout the body. Levels of albumin may decrease, to a greater or lesser degree, when conditions interfere with its production by the liver, increase protein breakdown, increase protein loss via the kidneys, and/or expand plasma volume (diluting the blood).

Two important causes of low blood albumin include:

Severe liver disease—since albumin is produced by the liver, its level can decrease with loss of liver function; however, this typically occurs only when the liver has been severely affected.
Kidney disease—one of the many functions of the kidneys is to conserve plasma proteins such as albumin so that they are not released along with waste products when urine is produced. Albumin is present in high concentrations in the blood, and when the kidneys are functioning properly, virtually no albumin is lost in the urine. However, if a person's kidneys become damaged or diseased, they begin to lose their ability to conserve albumin and other proteins. This is frequently seen in chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension. In nephrotic syndrome, very high amounts of albumin are lost through the kidneys.

For more information, read The Test tab.

How is the sample collected for testing?

A blood sample is taken by a needle from a vein in the arm.

Is any test preparation needed to ensure the quality of the sample?

No test preparation is needed.

Common Questions

How is it used?

An albumin test is routinely included in the panels of tests performed as part of a health examination, such as a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), so it is frequently used to help evaluate a person's overall health status.

Additionally, since albumin can be low in many different diseases and disorders, it may be used in a variety of settings to help diagnose disease, to monitor changes in health status with treatment or with disease progression, and as a screen that may indicate the need for other kinds of testing.

Albumin is a protein made by the liver that keeps fluid from leaking out of blood vessels, nourishes tissues, and transports hormones, vitamins, drugs, and substances like calcium throughout the body.

An albumin test may be ordered as part of a liver panel to evaluate liver function or with a creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), or renal panel to evaluate kidney function. Albumin may also be ordered to evaluate a person's nutritional status.
When is it ordered?
An albumin test is frequently ordered as part of a panel of tests performed for a health screening.

Albumin may be ordered, along with other tests, when a person has symptoms of a liver disorder, such as:

Yellowing of eyes or skin (jaundice)

Weakness, fatigue

Unexplained weight loss

Loss of appetite

Abdominal swelling and/or pain

Dark urine, light-colored stool

Itching (pruritus)

This test may be ordered when a person has symptoms of nephrotic syndrome, such as:

Swelling or puffiness, particularly around the eyes or in the face, wrists, abdomen, thighs or ankles

Urine that is foamy, bloody, or coffee-colored

A decrease in the amount of urine

Problems urinating, such as a burning feeling or abnormal discharge during urination, or a change in the frequency of urination, especially at night

Mid-back pain (flank), below the ribs, near where the kidneys are located

High blood pressure (hypertension)

A healthcare practitioner may also order an albumin test to check or monitor a person's nutritional status. However, since albumin concentrations respond to a variety of conditions in addition to malnutrition, a decrease in albumin needs to be evaluated carefully.
What does the test result mean?
Results of albumin testing are evaluated along with those from other tests done at the same time, such as the tests included in a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), or in follow up.

A low albumin level may be a warning and an indication that further investigation may be warranted. A low albumin may reflect a temporary condition that will resolve itself or may suggest an acute or chronic condition that requires medical intervention.

Levels of albumin may decrease, to a greater or lesser degree, when conditions interfere with its production, increase protein breakdown, increase protein loss, and/or expand plasma volume (diluting the blood). Depending on the person's medical history, signs and symptoms, and physical exam, additional testing may be done to investigate a low result.

A low albumin can suggest liver disease. Liver enzyme tests or a liver panel may be ordered to determine exactly which type of liver disease may be present. A person may, however, have normal or near normal albumin levels with liver disease until the condition has reached an advanced stage. For example, in people with cirrhosis, albumin is typically (but not always) low whereas in most chronic liver diseases that have not progressed to cirrhosis, albumin is usually normal.

Low albumin levels can reflect diseases in which the kidneys cannot prevent albumin from leaking from the blood into the urine and being lost. In this case, the amount of albumin or protein in the urine also may be measured (see Urine Albumin) or tests for creatinine and BUN or a renal panel may be ordered.

Low albumin levels can also be seen in inflammation, shock, and malnutrition. They may be seen with conditions in which the body does not properly absorb and digest protein, such as Crohns disease or celiac disease, or in which large volumes of protein are lost from the intestines.

A low albumin may also be seen in several other conditions, such as:

Infection

Burns

Surgery

Chronic illness

Cancer

Diabetes

Hypothyroidism

Carcinoid syndrome

Plasma volume expansion due to congestive heart failure, sometimes pregnancy

High albumin levels can be seen with dehydration, although the test is not typically used to monitor or detect this condition.
Is there anything else I should know?

Certain drugs increase albumin in the blood, including anabolic steroids, androgens, growth hormones, and insulin.

If someone is receiving large amounts of intravenous fluids, the results of this test may be inaccurate.
Is anyone at high risk for abnormal albumin levels?

Individuals who have chronic liver disease and kidney disorders are at highest risk for developing abnormal albumin levels. In addition, individuals whose gastrointestinal tract doesn't absorb nutrients properly and individuals who have prolonged diarrhea can develop abnormal albumin levels.
Is there a home test for albumin levels?

Not for blood albumin; you can test for high albumin levels in urine with a dipstick purchased in a drug store.
What is the difference between serum/plasma albumin, prealbumin, and urine albumin tests?

Although the names are similar, albumin and prealbumin are completely different molecules. They are both proteins made by the liver, however, and both have been used historically to evaluate nutritional status. Serum/plasma (or blood) albumin is now more often used to screen for and help diagnose liver or kidney disease and is tested on a blood sample. The urine albumin test (in the past, called a microalbumin test) detects and measures albumin in the urine as an early indicator of kidney damage.

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