What is an Albumin Blood Test?

What is albumin?

Albumin is the most abundant protein in human blood. It is made by the liver and circulates throughout the body in blood and a very small amount may pass through healthy kidneys into urine.

Albumin maintains the osmotic pressure which pulls water into the circulatory system. The pressure inside blood vessels exerted by pumping of the heart known as hydrostatic pressure, creates a force to push fluids out of veins and arteries into the surrounding tissue.

Albumin binds hormones, vitamins, drugs, fatty acids, minerals, and other substances in the blood, carries them throughout the body, and delivers them to body tissues. It has many locations where substances can attach with.

Albumin is the main antioxidant in blood. It works by binding with metals and reacting with free radicals, which prevents them from reacting with other parts of the body and causing them damage.

Why albumin test is performed?

Albumin helps move small molecules to move through the blood including bilirubin, calcium, progesterone, and medicines. It plays an important role in keeping the fluid in the blood from leaking into the tissues.

This test helps to determine that if you have liver disease or kidney disease or if your body is not absorbing enough protein.

Risk factors –

There is little risk involved with having your blood taken. Veins and arteries vary in size from person to person and from one side of the body to the other. Taking blood from some people may be more difficult than from others.

Other risks associated with having blood drawn are –

• Excessive bleeding
• Fainting
• Multiple punctures to locate veins
• Hematoma
• Infection

What abnormal results mean?

Lower-than-normal level of serum albumin may be a sign of:

• Kidney diseases
• Liver disease
• Your body does not get or absorb enough nutrients

 Decreased blood albumin may occur when

• After weight-loss surgery
• Celiac disease
• Crohn disease 
• Low-protein diets
• Whipple disease 

Increased blood albumin may be due to:

• Dehydration
• High protein diet
• Having a tourniquet on for a long time when giving a blood sample

Drinking too much water may also cause abnormal albumin test results.

 Other conditions for which the test may be performed:

• Burns
• Wilson disease