An albumin of 2.3
2.3 g/dL
Markedly low
Albumin of 2.3 g/dL is markedly below the reference range by commonly reported adult reference ranges
| Where it fallscommonly reported adult reference ranges | Markedly low |
|---|---|
| Albumin | 2.3g/dL |
| Usual reference range | 3.5 – 5.0g/dL |
| Markedly lowthis reading | under 2.5g/dL |
| Below the reference range | 2.5 – 3.4g/dL |
| Normal | 3.5 – 5g/dL |
| Above the reference range | 5 and aboveg/dL |
Notes
- One reading is not a diagnosis. Albumin moves with liver synthesis, nutrition, inflammation and how much of it is being lost through the kidneys or gut. A clinician reads it against your history and usually against a repeat, not on its own.
- Reference ranges differ between laboratories. The bands above follow commonly reported adult reference ranges. Your own report prints the range its analyser was calibrated against, and that printed range is the one to compare against — a difference of a few units between labs is normal and does not mean either is wrong.
- A low albumin is more often inflammation than malnutrition. It is a negative acute-phase protein: the liver makes less of it during any significant illness, and it also leaks out of blood vessels when they are inflamed. Feeding someone does not correct it while the underlying illness continues, which is why it works better as a marker of how ill someone is than of what they have eaten.
- A high albumin usually means dehydration, not an excess of protein — the same amount in less water.
What albumin of 2.3 g/dL means
A reading of 2.3 g/dL falls in Markedly low by commonly reported adult reference ranges.
The usual reference range is 3.5 – 5.0 g/dL.
Reading it next to the rest of the picture
A single figure is a snapshot. What somebody experienced does with it is set by what sits around it — the other figures on the same report, the history behind them, and what the previous result was. Two people can hand over the same number and leave with different advice, and neither has been given the wrong answer.
That is also why the bands on this page are drawn from a named source rather than a rounded rule of thumb. A threshold is a decision point somebody argued for in print, not a law of nature, and knowing which document a line comes from is what lets you tell a meaningful result from a borderline one.
Nearby sizes
Read more
- CBC Normal Ranges — What Each Line on the Result MeansA value marked high or low on a CBC is common and is often not significant on its own. The pattern across lines is what a clinician reads.
- eGFR Normal Range: Above 90, and the Stages Below IteGFR is an estimate built from creatinine, age and sex — and the estimate is better than the raw creatinine it comes from, for a reason worth understanding.
- TSH Normal Range: 0.4–4.0 mIU/L, and the Number Moves BackwardsTSH runs opposite to the gland it measures. High TSH means the thyroid is underactive, and that inversion catches almost everyone reading their own result.
- Cholesterol Numbers: What Total, LDL, HDL and Triglycerides MeanA lipid panel reports four numbers and the one printed largest — total cholesterol — is the least useful of them.