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Albumin

Liver & Biliary

ALBSerum albumin

Review status

Currently under review

Pending specialist review and validation.

What it shows

Albumin is the most abundant protein in your blood. It is made by your liver and helps keep fluid in your bloodstream, carry hormones, vitamins, and medicines, and maintain the right balance of pressure between blood and tissues.

Most often, albumin is measured in a blood sample to check how your liver and overall health are doing. It can also be measured in urine to look for early signs of kidney damage, because small amounts of albumin can leak into urine when the kidney filters are stressed or injured.

Your clinician may order albumin as part of a comprehensive metabolic or liver panel, or together with urine tests when monitoring conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, or kidney disease.

Why it matters

Blood albumin gives clues about liver function, inflammation, and nutritional status. Low levels can be seen when the liver is not making enough protein, when albumin is lost through the kidneys or gut, or during significant inflammation or illness. Higher blood levels can occur when you are dehydrated.

Urine albumin helps detect kidney stress or damage at an early, treatable stage, especially in people with diabetes, high blood pressure, or cardiovascular risk. Finding albumin in urine can prompt steps to protect kidney function and heart health.

Your clinician may order this test if you have symptoms of liver or kidney problems, unexplained swelling, weight changes, chronic conditions that affect these organs, or before and after treatments that can impact protein balance.

Understanding your results

If your blood albumin is lower than expected, your clinician will consider several possibilities, such as liver disease, kidney loss of protein, inflammation, malnutrition, heart failure, or effects from recent illness or surgery. They may repeat the test, review medicines, and add other labs like liver enzymes, kidney tests, or markers of inflammation. If it is higher than expected, dehydration is a common cause, and rechecking after correcting fluids can clarify the picture.

If albumin is found in your urine, the amount and the pattern over time help determine next steps. A one-time small increase can be temporary, for example after strenuous exercise or fever. Persistent findings usually lead to repeat measurements, often with a urine albumin to creatinine ratio, and treatment of risk factors such as blood pressure, blood sugar, and smoking. Your care team will guide follow-up based on your overall health and other test results.

Reference ranges

29 – 44 g/L
Female
0 days – 15 days
29 – 44 g/L
Male
0 days – 15 days
60 – 210 mg/L
All sexes
0 days – 2 months
2 – 20 mg/L
All sexes
0 days – 18 years
30 – 300 mg/day
All sexes
0 days – 18 years
38 – 50 g/L
All sexes
0 days – 150 years
26 – 49 g/L
Female
15 days – 1 year
26 – 49 g/L
Male
15 days – 1 year
140 – 300 mg/L
All sexes
2 months – 6 years
37 – 48 g/L
Female
1 year – 8 years
37 – 48 g/L
Male
1 year – 8 years
150 – 330 mg/L
All sexes
6 years – 12 years
39 – 50 g/L
Female
8 years – 15 years
39 – 50 g/L
Male
8 years – 15 years
180 – 380 mg/L
All sexes
12 years – 18 years
37 – 52 g/L
Female
15 years – 18 years
40 – 54 g/L
Male
15 years – 18 years
180 – 380 mg/L
All sexes
18 years – 150 years
0 – 29.9 mg/day
All sexes
18 years – 150 years
38 – 52 g/L
Female
18 years – 150 years
38 – 52 g/L
Male
18 years – 150 years

Reference intervals vary by laboratory, analyzer, methodology, population, and units. The ranges shown here are for education only. Always interpret your results against the reference interval printed on your own lab report.

Factors that could impact Albumin

  • Hydration and posture

    Dehydration can concentrate albumin in blood, while excess fluids can dilute it. Lying down versus standing can slightly change plasma protein concentrations, so consistent positioning helps.

  • Recent illness, surgery, or inflammation

    Inflammation and serious illness shift how your body makes and uses proteins, often lowering blood albumin temporarily even if nutrition is adequate.

  • Medications and infusions

    Diuretics, steroids, and intravenous fluids can change albumin levels by affecting fluid balance or protein production. Some drugs also bind albumin, altering measured values.

  • Pregnancy

    Normal changes in blood volume during pregnancy can lower measured albumin in blood. Urine albumin may be monitored more closely if you have hypertension or diabetes.

  • Vigorous exercise and fever

    Strenuous activity or fever can cause a temporary rise in urine albumin. Avoid heavy exercise for a day before urine testing when possible.

  • Specimen collection issues

    Prolonged tourniquet time, delayed processing, or urine contamination with menstrual blood can distort results. Follow collection instructions carefully.

2026

References

  1. McGill University Health Centre. (2015, July 02). Albumin (Task CD 315834). Laboratory reference ranges.
  2. McGill University Health Centre. (2015, October 23). Albumin (Task CD 699362). Laboratory reference ranges.
  3. McGill University Health Centre. (2015, April 30). Albumin (Task CD 684771). Laboratory reference ranges.
  4. McGill University Health Centre. (2017, May 05). Albumin (Task CD 793472). Laboratory reference ranges.
  5. Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) CKD Work Group. (2013). KDIGO 2012 clinical practice guideline for the evaluation and management of chronic kidney disease. Kidney International Supplements, 3(1), 1-150. External link
  6. Kwo, P. Y., Cohen, S. M., & Lim, J. K. (2017). ACG clinical guideline: Evaluation of abnormal liver chemistries. American Journal of Gastroenterology, 112(1), 18-35.