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Reasons for increasing and lowering albumin

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Both qualitative and quantitative changes in plasma albumin are possible. The qualitative changes in albumin are very rare due to the homogeneous composition of this protein fraction; quantitative changes are manifested by hyper- and hypoalbuminemia.

Reference values (normal) concentration of albumin in the blood - 35-50 g / l (3.5-5 g / dL).

The reasons for the increase and decrease in albumin are due either to vernal causes or to internal factors of the state of the human body.

Both lowered and above normal, albumin can signal problems in the state of the body. The reasons for the increase and decrease in albumin are found out both by laboratory methods of blood collection and other diagnostic methods. Also, the reasons for the increase and decrease in albumin are determined by the doctor with a thorough collection of information, the history of the disease - history.

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What are the possible causes of an increase and decrease in albumin?

Banal dehydration immediately increases the amount of protein, so the protective mechanisms of human physiology work. The blood thickens also with prolonged diarrhea or uncontrollable vomiting. A reduced albumin level indicates its unintended losses or insufficient production thereof. This is a signal of serious ailments, severe pathologies, among which may be liver or blood disorders.

A normal albumin whey protein molecule should function for at least two decades to twenty days. All this time albumin is stored protein important for the body. If a person begins experiments with starvation, the body will still fill the need for protein, but not at the expense of food, which it does not receive, but at the expense of its own albumin. Thus, the reasons for the increase and decrease in albumin are sometimes associated with unreasonable "independent action" in the field of rational nutrition. Also, the reasons for the increase and decrease in albumin can be explained by more joyful circumstances, such as pregnancy. The future mother, possibly unwittingly, shares with the fruit “building” material, including albumin. The level of whey protein decreases during another pleasant procedure related to motherhood - breastfeeding. The reasons for the rise and fall of albumin are often associated with an unhealthy lifestyle. Any habit, ruinous health - smoking, abuse of alcohol-containing liquids leads to a change in the albumin rate. Heavy smokers can be sure that the level of their vital albumin is well below normal boundaries. Persons who do not spare their liver, also can not boast of normal levels of albumin, because just in the liver, whey protein and is synthesized.

Also the reasons for the increase and decrease in albumin can be explained by hereditary factors. Genetic disruptions, heredity can cause a reduced amount of albumin in the blood. In addition, many severe pathologies of the kidneys or liver, including oncological processes, significantly change the limits of the norm of albumin. Among the causes may be lung disease - pneumonia or severe flu. Smaller than the amount of albumin in the plasma can be in cases of anorexia or dystrophy. This condition, or rather the lack of albumin, is called hypoalbunemia. The decrease in albumin can provoke drugs, especially their long-term use. Azathioprine, phenytoin, dextran, ibuprofen group, isoniazid and others - all of these drugs affect the state of the albumin level.

The reasons for the increase and decrease of albumin are found out not only by studying the anamnestic information, but also with the help of specific analyzes. They are carried out in laboratories by the method of colorimetry. Studies are conducted on an empty stomach, any physical activity and the load is excluded. This analysis is so specific that even a strong squeezing of the arm with a cord can distort its results. And the patient's long standing position can also add about 10% to the obtained indicators. Such an assessment of the properties and general state of protein metabolism may clarify the reasons for the increase and decrease in albumin.

Serum albumin accounts for approximately 60% of total protein. Albumins are synthesized in the liver (approximately 15 g / day), their half-life is approximately 17 days. Oncotic plasma pressure is 65-80% due to albumin. Albumins perform an important function of transporting many biologically active substances, in particular hormones. They are able to bind with cholesterol, bilirubin. Much of the calcium in the blood is also bound to albumin. Albumins are able to connect with various drugs.

Hyperalbuminemia observed with dehydration in cases of severe injuries, with extensive burns, cholera.

Hypoalbuminemia are primary (in newborn babies as a result of hepatic cell immaturity) and secondary due to various pathological conditions (including cirrhosis ), which are similar to those that cause hypoproteinemia. In a decrease in albumin concentration, hemodilution may also play a role, for example during pregnancy. The decrease in albumin content below 22-24 g / l is accompanied by the development of pulmonary edema.

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