Furthermore, while serum albumin is frequently used as a biomarker of nutritional status, its reliability as an indicator of malnutrition in non-inflammatory conditions, such as starvation, remains questionable [18,7]. A meta-analysis of 63 studies, encompassing 2,125 patients, investigated the impact of prolonged starvation on serum albumin levels in otherwise healthy individuals. Here, ALB is linked to malnutrition.