page_title: Hypoalbuminemia
section_title: Malnutrition or malabsorption
hierarchical_section_title: Hypoalbuminemia / Causes / Malnutrition or malabsorption
caption_attribution_description: العربية: صُورة ترجع لِأواخر عقد الستينيَّات من القرن العشرين، تُظهر طفلة مريضة جالسة، تُعاني من مرض كواشيوركور شأنها شأن الكثير من الأطفال الذين عُثر عليهم في مُخيمات اللاجئين خِلال الحرب الأهليَّة النيجيريَّة. الكواشيوركور هو مرضٌ ينجم عن عوز الپروتين الحاد، وهذه الطفلة، التي تسببت نوعيَّة حميتها الغذائيَّة بِهذا المرض، كانت تُعاني أيضًا من عوارض مُختلفة بما فيها وذمة الساقين والقدمين، وبهتان لون الجلد، وتساقط الشعر، وفقر الدم، وانتفاخ المعدة، ولمعان الجلد. أُنشأ الكثير من مُخيمات الإغاثة في سبيل تقديم المُساعدات الغذائيَّة لِلقرويين في المناطق المُحيطة بِمواقع النزاع. English: This late 1960s photograph shows a seated, listless child, who was among many kwashiorkor cases found in Nigerian relief camps during the Nigerian–Biafran war. Kwashiorkor is a disease brought on due to a severe dietary protein deficiency, and this child, whose diet fit such a deficiency profile, presented with symptoms including edema of legs and feet, light-colored, thinning hair, anemia, a pot-belly, and shiny skin. A large number of relief camps were established for nutrition assessment and feeding operations for the local villagers around the war zone. Español: Tomada a finales la década de 1960, esta fotografía muestra a una niña lánguida sentada; uno de muchos casos de personas afectadas por el kwashiorkor encontradas en campamentos de socorro nigerianos durante la guerra entre Nigeria y Biafra. Français&#160;: Photo de la fin des années 1960 montrant une jeune fille atteinte de kwashiorkor, l'un des nombreux enfants atteints de ce mal lié à la malnutrition présents dans les camps de réfugiés nigériens au cours de la guerre du Biafra. Cette maladie se manifeste ici par un œdème de l’abdomen (grand ventre protubérant) et des extrémités, une atteinte des cheveux et de la peau, et une anémie. Italiano: Uno dei tanti bambini affetti da kwashiorkor presenti nei campi di accoglienza durante la guerra del Biafra Українська: Дитина, хвора на квашіоркор, у таборі для біженців під час громадянської війни у Нігерії (1967—1970)
context_page_description: Hypoalbuminemia is a medical sign in which the level of albumin in the blood is low. This can be due to decreased production in the liver, increased loss in the gastrointestinal tract or kidneys, increased use in the body, or abnormal distribution between body compartments. Patients often present with hypoalbuminemia as a result of another disease process such as sepsis, cirrhosis in the liver, nephrotic syndrome in the kidneys, or protein-losing enteropathy in the gastrointestinal tract. One of the roles of albumin is being the major driver of oncotic pressure in the bloodstream and the body. Thus, hypoalbuminemia leads to abnormal distributions of fluids within the body and its compartments. As a result, associated symptoms include edema in the lower legs, ascites in the abdomen, and effusions around internal organs. Laboratory tests aimed at assessing liver function diagnose hypoalbuminemia. Once identified, it is a poor prognostic indicator for patients with a variety of different diseases. Yet, it is only treated in very specific indications in patients with cirrhosis and nephrotic syndrome. Treatment instead focuses on the underlying cause of the hypoalbuminemia.
context_section_description: Kwashiorkor is a disease of malnutrition characterized by decreased protein intake and amino acid deficiency resulting in hypoalbuminemia and a characteristic physical presentation. This is an extreme example of how malnutrition can result in hypoalbuminemia. More typical is malnutrition-associated hypoalbuminemia in the elderly, who appear thin and frail but not with the rounded abdomen and edema seen in Kwashiorkor. Albumin is an acute negative phase respondent and not a reliable indicator of nutrition status
  Low albumin levels can also indicate chronic malnutrition from protein losing enteropathy. This is often caused or exacerbated by ulcerative colitis, but can also be seen in cardiac disease and systemic lupus erythematosus. Broadly, protein-losing enteropathy can be caused by increased lymphatic pressure in the gastrointestinal tract as in lymphangiectasis, mucosal erosion-induced lack of absorption as in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and other diseases of malabsorption without mucosal erosions as in Celiac disease. 
  Eosinophilic gastritis presents with epigastric pain, peripheral blood eosinophilia, anemia, and hypoalbuminemia.
caption: A girl with the physical signs and symptoms of Kwashiorkor, which is an extreme form of malnutrition-associated hypoalbuminemia.
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