Having your blood drawn may be the least favorite part of your doctor's visit. Blood values, however, help your doctor determine if she needs to conduct more tests to assess your health status. Serum albumin is a common blood test that your doctor may use to assess the health of your liver or kidneys. While it is also used to assess the adequacy of your protein intake, it may not be as good a measure once thought.
Albumin
Albumin is a protein made by the liver. It is also one of the most abundant proteins found in your blood. It is needed to help promote growth and repair tissue. It also helps prevent fluid from leaking out of your cells by maintaining osmotic pressure. Under normal circumstances your body is able to produce adequate amounts of albumin to perform these functions. If you have liver disease, however, your body may not be able to make enough albumin to keep up with demands. If you have kidney disease, your body may be excreting large amounts of albumin in your urine, making it difficult for your body to replenish stores.
Blood Test
A blood test is performed to assess your serum albumin. If you have liver disease or kidney disease, your doctor may check your serum albumin levels regularly. It is also used to assess the protein status in people who may be malabsorbing protein. It is also used as a test to assess nutritional status in hospitalized patients. A normal serum albumin ranges from 3.4 to 5.4 g/dL.
Albumin and Protein Intake
While serum albumin is used to assess protein intake, it may not be the best indicator, according to the website RD411. A low protein intake does not always correlate with a low serum albumin. For example, patients suffering from anorexia nervosa have normal albumin levels despite poor calorie and protein intakes. In addition, increasing protein intake does not seem to have much of an impact on serum albumin levels.
Concerns
While serum albumin is used to assess protein intake, it is affected by too many factors to be completely reliable. These factors include dehydration, inflammation, liver failure, cancer, ascites, metabolic stress, burns and trauma. It is, however, used to indicate morbidity and mortality in certain diseases and conditions. For example, kidney disease patients on dialysis with low albumin levels are at a higher risk of illness and death.
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