Albumin

Blood is made of fluid and blood cells. Albumin keeps the fluid part of your blood from leaking out of your blood vessels (the tubes your blood flows through) and into other tissues. If you don't have enough albumin, fluid can leak out of your blood and build up in your lungs, abdomen (belly), or other parts of your body.

Albumin also helps carry important substances throughout your body. These include hormones, vitamins, and enzymes (proteins that speed up certain chemical reactions in your body).

An albumin blood test alone cannot diagnose a condition. Your provider will usually consider your albumin test results with the results of other tests to make a diagnosis.

Lower than normal albumin levels may be a sign of liver disease, poor nutrition, long-lasting inflammation, or kidney conditions that lose protein in the urine. When albumin drops well below normal, fluid can leak out of the blood vessels and cause swelling in the legs, belly, or lungs.

Higher than normal albumin levels in your blood are uncommon and most often a sign of dehydration, which may be caused by severe diarrhea or other conditions.

If your albumin levels are not in the normal range, it doesn't always mean you have a medical condition that needs treatment. Certain medicines, including steroids, insulin, and hormones, can increase albumin levels. Your albumin levels may be lower than normal if you haven't eaten for 24 to 48 hours, or take certain medicines, including birth control pills. Albumin levels are also lower during pregnancy.