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Results about Haemoglobin

Common Name:Haemoglobin. Alternative Name:Hemoglobin

The hemoglobin level is expressed as the amount of hemoglobin in grams (gm) per deciliter (dl) of whole blood, a deciliter being 100 milliliters.

The normal ranges for hemoglobin depend on the age and, beginning in adolescence, the sex of the person. The normal ranges are:

Newborns: 17-22 gm/dl One (1) week of age: 15-20 gm/dl One (1) month of age: 11-15gm/dl Children: 11-13 gm/dl Adult males: 14-18 gm/dl Adult women: 12-16 gm/dl Men after middle age: 12.4-14.9 gm/dl Women after middle age: 11.7-13.8 gm/dl All of these values may vary slightly between laboratories. Some laboratories do not differentiate between adult and "after middle age" hemoglobin values.

A low hemoglobin is referred to as being anemic. There are many reasons for anemia. Some of the more common reasons are loss of blood (traumatic injury, surgery, bleeding colon cancer), nutritional deficiency (iron, vitamin B12, folate), bone marrow problems (replacement of bone marrow by cancer, suppression by chemotherapy drugs, kidney failure), and abnormal hemoglobin (sickle cell anemia).

What does a high hemoglobin level mean?

Higher than normal hemoglobin levels can be seen in people living at high altitudes and in smokers. Dehydration produces a falsely high hemoglobin which disappears when proper fluid balance is restored. Some other infrequent causes are lung disease, certain tumors, a disorder of the bone marrow known as polycythemia rubra vera, and abuse of the drug erythropoietin (Epogen) by athletes for blood doping purposes.