Albumin

This is the harmonised UK adult range; it is lower in pregnancy and in older age, and the two common lab methods differ by a few g/L.

Albumin is the most plentiful protein in the blood. It is made by the liver, holds fluid inside the blood vessels, and carries hormones, calcium, medicines and other substances around the body. The test measures the concentration in a blood sample.

It is part of the liver panel and the bone profile. Doctors use it as a measure of the liver's protein-making ability, of nutrition and general health, and to adjust the calcium result. It is also used when looking into swelling of the legs or abdomen.

• Dehydration, which concentrates the blood
• A tourniquet left on for a long time or standing up before the sample, by a small amount
• It rarely rises for any other reason

• Any illness or inflammation, even a cold, because the liver makes less for a while
• Long-standing liver disease
• Kidney conditions where protein leaks into the urine
• Poor nutrition or gut conditions that reduce absorption
• Pregnancy and older age
• Heart failure and other conditions where fluid builds up

• It dips with any short-term illness and recovers afterwards
• Lying down before the sample lowers it by a few g/L compared with standing
• Different lab methods (BCG and BCP) give different values, so a change of lab can look like a change in the person

No fasting needed. Posture matters a little; hospital in-patients lying down read lower than out-patients. Look at the trend rather than one value.

Written by a UK consultant physician. Typical UK adult reference ranges; your laboratory's own printed range takes precedence.