What Causes Elevated Blood Albumin Levels?
Albumin is one of the items in liver function tests, and its detection results are used to diagnose certain diseases, especially to reflect whether the liver is damaged and the severity of the damage. High albumin levels are a common clinical phenomenon. So, what causes high albumin levels? Let's take a look at the answers below.
The normal values of albumin vary among different age groups. The normal range of albumin for newborns is 28-44g/L, for individuals over 14 years old is 38-54g/L, for adults is 35-50g/L, and for those over 60 years old is 34-48g/L. Albumin levels higher than this range are considered high.
Cause 1: High albumin levels are mainly seen in blood concentration leading to relative increases, such as severe dehydration and shock, massive hemorrhage, severe burns, kidney diseases, etc. It can also be seen in liver cirrhosis with ascites and other severe liver damage, malnutrition, chronic consumptive diseases, diabetes, severe hemorrhagic nephrotic syndrome, etc.
Cause 2: High albumin levels can also be affected by protein intake in the diet and can be used as an indicator of an individual's nutritional status to some extent.
1. Maintaining Constant Plasma Colloid Osmotic Pressure: Albumin is the most abundant, smallest in molecule, highly soluble, and functionally diverse protein in plasma. It helps maintain normal fluid balance and prevent edema.
2. Transport Function of Plasma Albumin: Plasma albumin can reversibly bind with many insoluble small molecular organic compounds and inorganic ions in the body to form soluble complexes, which serve as the transport forms of these substances in the blood circulation. Albumin is a non-specific transport protein that is physiologically important and closely related to human health. Human serum albumin is suitable for the prevention and treatment of hypoproteinemia and the treatment of edema or ascites caused by liver cirrhosis and kidney disease.
3. Other Physiological Roles of Plasma Albumin: The content of albumin in plasma is much higher than that of globulin, and its hydrophilic effect is greater than that of globulin. This allows albumin in plasma to play a stable role in colloidal protection for globulin. When liver dysfunction causes insufficient synthesis of albumin, it can cause plasma globulin to lose its colloidal protective effect and stability. The decreased stability of plasma globulin will seriously affect the metabolism and utilization of these substances in the body, causing corresponding symptoms. Albumin is also an important nutrient in the human body. Albumin in plasma is constantly metabolized and renewed. The amino acids produced by the decomposition of plasma albumin can be used for the synthesis of tissue proteins, oxidized and decomposed to supply energy or converted into other nitrogen-containing substances. When active hormones or drugs bind to albumin, they may not exhibit their activity and are considered to be in their stored form. Due to the reversibility of this binding and its dynamic equilibrium, it is of great significance in regulating the metabolism of these hormones and drugs. Albumin is a viscous, colloidal substance that automatically binds to heavy metal ions when encountered in the human body and is excreted by the excretory system, playing a role in detoxification. Eating foods rich in albumin can prevent the absorption of heavy metal ions and poisoning. Albumin also protects the stomach wall.
After reading the above introduction, now you know what causes high albumin levels. Therefore, if patients with liver disease have elevated albumin levels, they need to come to the hospital for liver function tests as soon as possible to see if they are accompanied by other complications and then receive treatment.
