Albumin Blood Test (Serum Albumin)

This test measures the concentration of albumin in your blood serum. Quest notes that serum albumin is used in monitoring and treating many diseases involving mainly the liver and kidney, that albumin can also be lost through the gut, through the urine by damaged kidneys or directly through the skin, and that the only cause of increased albumin is dehydration.

People re-checking a low albumin from a previous test; people whose clinician wants albumin followed during recovery from illness, a change in diet or nutrition, or treatment for a liver, kidney or digestive condition; and people with swelling, unexplained weight loss or other symptoms being evaluated alongside other tests. If you have never had liver or kidney tests, a CMP is usually the better first step.

Any time of day; no fasting is needed. For a re-check, use the interval your clinician suggests: albumin changes slowly, so testing again too soon may not show a difference. Note that not eating for 24 to 48 hours can lower albumin, so test while eating normally.

A result within the lab's reference range is reassuring for this marker; Quest's directory lists 3.6-5.1 g/dL. A low albumin can reflect liver disease (such as cirrhosis, hepatitis or fatty liver disease), kidney disease that lets albumin leak into the urine, malnutrition or low protein intake, digestive conditions that limit protein absorption (such as Crohn's disease), infection, large burns or thyroid disease. A high albumin almost always reflects dehydration. Albumin is normally lower in pregnancy, and some medicines move it up or down. An abnormal result is usually interpreted with other liver and kidney tests and, often, a urine test. JustLabs results are informational; review them with a clinician.