Protein, Total
The total amount of protein in your blood, mainly albumin and globulin. It is read together with albumin and your liver and kidney tests.
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert reviewAlso called TP, TProtLOINC 2885-2
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What it is
Total protein measures all the proteins in the liquid part of your blood. Nearly all of it is albumin, which your liver makes, and globulins, which include antibodies from your immune system. It is a standard part of the comprehensive metabolic panel and liver panels. Albumin and globulin can move in opposite directions, so the total can look usual even when one of them is off. That is why it is read with albumin and globulin.
Why it matters
Blood proteins keep fluid inside your blood vessels, carry hormones, vitamins and medicines, and help fight infection. A total protein outside the usual range can be a clue about hydration, nutrition, your liver, your kidneys or your immune system. On its own it cannot say which, so your clinician looks at albumin, globulin and your other results. Many results just outside the range have simple explanations, such as being low on fluids.
If it’s low
A low total protein usually means albumin is low. This can happen when the blood is diluted with extra fluid, when the body takes in or absorbs too little protein, when the liver makes less, or when protein is lost through the kidneys or gut. It is also common in pregnancy and with IV fluids. Your clinician can look for the cause with a few more tests.
Common causes
- Extra fluid in the blood, from IV fluids, rapid hydration or pregnancy
- Lying down for long periods, such as during a hospital stay (about 5–10% lower)
- Not eating enough protein, or not absorbing it well, as in celiac disease, Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis
- Liver disease, including long-term heavy alcohol use, because the liver makes albumin
- Kidney conditions that leak protein into the urine, such as nephrotic syndrome or glomerulonephritis
- Heart failure
- Severe burns or skin disease
- An overactive thyroid
- Medicines that contain estrogen, such as some birth control pills
- Long-lasting illnesses, including some cancers
What can help
- Ask which tests, such as albumin, kidney tests, a urine protein test or liver tests, could find the cause
- Tell your clinician about swelling, changes in appetite or weight, or digestive symptoms
- Talk with your clinician or a dietitian about your protein intake if you eat very little
If it’s high
A high total protein often means the blood is more concentrated because you are low on fluids, or that globulins are raised, for example from long-lasting inflammation or infection. Less often, the immune system makes a large amount of a single antibody-type protein. A result above the range often leads to a repeat test, and sometimes a protein electrophoresis test to see which proteins are up. Many other things can cause this, and your clinician can put it in context.
Common causes
- Dehydration, which makes the blood more concentrated
- A blood draw with the tourniquet on for a long time
- Long-lasting infection or inflammation, including autoimmune conditions
- Some medicines and hormones, such as anabolic steroids, androgens, growth hormone, insulin and progesterone
- Long-term liver disease, such as chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis
- Inflammatory conditions such as sarcoidosis
- Less often, blood-cell cancers that make a lot of one protein, such as multiple myeloma or Waldenström macroglobulinemia
What can help
- Ask whether a repeat test after drinking fluids normally makes sense
- Ask whether albumin, globulin or a protein electrophoresis test would help explain it
- Review your medicines and supplements with your clinician
Usual ranges
What labs print as the reference range, by who was tested. Ranges differ a little between labs, so the range on your own report is the one your result is judged against.
The usual range depends on age. Choose an age to see the one that applies.
- 18+6–8.5 g/dL
Sources: Labcorp, Mayo Clinic Laboratories (via the testcatalog.org copy of the Mayo catalog), Cleveland Clinic
Children and teens 1 ranges
- 1–176.3–7.9 g/dL
Source: Mayo Clinic Laboratories (via the testcatalog.org copy of the Mayo catalog)
See Total Protein by age and sex, with the U.S. survey numbers where they exist.
How common is your level?
NHANES describes the US civilian, non-institutionalized population, not a 'healthy' reference group. People with disease, on medication, fasting or not (except fasting-subsample markers), smokers and so on are all included. A percentile says where a value sits among Americans of that sex and age, not whether it is normal.
Use the left and right arrow keys to read each age. Shift moves five years.
Reference data derived from CDC/NCHS National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), cycles 2015-2016, 2017-March 2020 (pre-pandemic), August 2021-August 2023. Analysis by bloodtesttracker.com; not endorsed by CDC, NCHS or HHS.
Explore Total Protein by age and sex: every percentile as a table, with a download.
What can affect your result
- Posture: lying down lowers the result by about 5–10% compared with standing or sitting
- Hydration: dehydration raises it, and extra fluid or IV fluids lower it
- Pregnancy: levels are usually lower
- Tourniquet time and some medicines and hormones
- Lab method: labs print slightly different intervals, for example Labcorp 6.0–8.5 g/dL and Mayo Clinic Laboratories 6.3–7.9 g/dL
- Lying down lowers total protein by about 5–10% compared with standing or sitting (Labcorp).
- A tourniquet left on for a long time can raise the result (Lab Tests Online UK).
- Dehydration concentrates the blood and raises the result. IV fluids dilute it and lower the result.
- Anabolic steroids, androgens, growth hormone, insulin and progesterone can raise it, and estrogens can lower it (Lab Tests Online UK).
- Labcorp rejects hemolyzed samples.
Hydration and posture effects are immediate. Albumin, the largest part, has a half-life of about 18–20 days (Labcorp), so lasting changes from nutrition, liver or kidney conditions take weeks to show.
When to talk to a clinician
No widely published urgent threshold exists for total protein. Labcorp notes that swelling (edema) becomes likely when total protein is very low (below about 4 g/dL) together with low albumin. See a clinician soon for new swelling in your legs, ankles or belly, yellow skin or eyes, blood in your urine, or unexplained weight loss.
Questions you could ask
- How do my total protein, albumin and globulin fit together?
- Could dehydration or a medicine explain this result?
- Would albumin, globulin or a protein electrophoresis test help?
- Should we repeat this test, and when?
- Could my diet, digestion, liver or kidneys explain a low result?
- Would a urine protein test or other tests help find the cause?
Questions people ask
Why is my total protein in the usual range when my albumin is low?
Total protein is albumin plus globulin. If albumin falls while globulin rises, the total can stay in the usual range. That is why labs also report albumin, and often globulin, and why clinicians look at them together.
Can dehydration change my total protein?
Yes. When you are low on fluids, your blood is more concentrated and total protein can read higher. Extra fluid, including IV fluids, can make it read lower. Drinking fluids normally before a blood draw helps the result reflect your usual level.
Does my position during the blood draw matter?
A little. Total protein and albumin are about 5–10% lower after lying down for a while than when standing or sitting. That is one reason hospital results can read lower than results from a clinic visit.
Does a high total protein mean something serious?
Often it does not. Being low on fluids or having long-lasting inflammation are common explanations. Sometimes clinicians order more tests, such as albumin or protein electrophoresis, to see which proteins are higher. Your clinician can put your result in context.
How do I convert g/dL to g/L?
Multiply g/dL by 10, so 7.0 g/dL is 70 g/L. To go the other way, divide g/L by 10.
Show the science and sources
Units
- 1 g/dL = 1 g/dL
- 1 g/dL = 10 g/L
Open the Total Protein unit converter
Is a change real?
Total Protein naturally varies about 2.6% from test to test in the same healthy person. Between two results from the same lab, a change of roughly 8% or more is unlikely to be day-to-day noise or lab variation (95% reference change value). Source: The European Biological Variation Study (EuBIVAS): a summary report.
For clinicians and researchers
Total protein is the sum of albumin (usually more than half of the total) and the globulins (alpha-1, alpha-2, beta and gamma fractions). Most labs measure it with the biuret reaction, in which copper ions in alkaline solution bind peptide bonds and give a violet color proportional to protein concentration. Mayo Clinic Laboratories lists a colorimetric biuret method, and ARUP lists spectrophotometry. Because it sums two fractions that often move in opposite directions, such as low albumin with high globulin in chronic inflammation, liver disease or a monoclonal gammopathy, a total in the usual range can mask a real change. Serum protein electrophoresis separates the fractions. Lying down lowers total protein by about 5–10% compared with upright posture (Labcorp), and prolonged venous stasis from a tourniquet raises it. Labcorp rejects hemolyzed samples. Pregnancy lowers total protein, mainly through hemodilution and lower albumin. Reference intervals vary by method and lab (Labcorp 6.0–8.5, Mayo 6.3–7.9 g/dL).
LOINC 2885-2 (primary). Specimen: serum-or-plasma.
Sources
- Protein, Total (test 001073), Labcorp
- Sample report, Protein, Total (test 001073), Labcorp
- Sample report, Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (14) (test 322000), Labcorp
- Albumin (test 001081), Labcorp
- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, Serum (test ID CMAMA), Mayo Clinic Laboratories (via the testcatalog.org copy of the Mayo catalog)
- Hepatic Function Panel, Serum (test ID LIVPR), Mayo Clinic Laboratories (via the testcatalog.org copy of the Mayo catalog)
- Protein, Total, Serum or Plasma (test 0020029), ARUP Laboratories
- Globulin Blood Test, Cleveland Clinic (2022)
- Total Protein and Albumin/Globulin (A/G) Ratio, MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine)
- Total Protein Test, Lab Tests Online UK (Association for Laboratory Medicine)
AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review. Last reviewed 2026-10-03. How we build and check these pages.