Since albumin is low in many different diseases and disorders, albumin testing is used in a variety of settings to help diagnose disease, to monitor changes in health status with treatment or with disease progression, and as a screen that may serve as an indicator for other kinds of testing.

A doctor requests a blood albumin test (usually along with several other tests) if a person seems to have symptoms of liver disorder or a kidney disorder called nephrotic syndrome.

Doctors may also request blood albumin tests when they want to check a person’s nutritional status, for example, when someone has lost a lot of weight.

Low albumin levels can suggest liver disease. Liver enzyme tests are requested to help determine which type of liver disease.

Low albumin levels can reflect diseases in which the kidneys cannot prevent albumin from leaking from the blood into the urine and being lost. In this case, the amount of albumin (or protein) in the urine also may be measured. 

Low albumin levels can also be seen in severe inflammation, shock, and malnutrition.

Low albumin levels may also suggest conditions in which your body does not properly absorb and digest protein such as Crohn’s disease or in which large volumes of protein are lost from the intestine.

High albumin levels usually reflect dehydration.

Certain drugs increase albumin in your blood, including anabolic steroids, androgens, growth hormones, and insulin.

If you are receiving large amounts of intravenous fluids, the results of this test may be inaccurate.