What do the results mean?
Your results will show that your protein levels are in the normal range, too high, or too low.
High protein levels may be caused by many conditions. Common causes of high levels include:
Dehydration
Liver disease
Inflammatory diseases, a condition when the body's immune system attacks healthy tissues by mistake. Inflammatory diseases include rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. Inflammatory diseases are similar to autoimmune diseases, but they affect different parts of the immune system.
Kidney disease
High cholesterol
Iron-deficiency anemia
Multiple myeloma
Lymphoma
Certain infections
Low protein levels may be caused by many conditions. Common causes of low levels include:
Kidney disease
Liver disease
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, an inherited disorder that can lead to lung disease at an early age
Malnutrition
Certain autoimmune disorders
Your diagnosis will depend on which specific protein levels were not normal, and whether the levels were too high or too low. It may also depend on the unique patterns made by the proteins.
If you have questions about your results, talk to your health care provider.Learn more about laboratory tests, reference ranges, and understanding results.
