What Do Hemoglobin Tests Measure

Hemoglobin detection includes two parts, one is hemoglobin concentration detection, and the other is hemoglobin electrophoresis detection. The hemoglobin concentration test includes whether the hemoglobin concentration is lowered. If the hemoglobin concentration is lowered, it is common in anemia of various causes, such as iron deficiency anemia, aplastic anemia, megaloblastic anemia, hemolytic anemia, hemorrhagic anemia, etc. Elevated hemoglobin concentration is common in various myeloproliferative diseases, such as polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia. If abnormal hemoglobin electrophoresis is found, it is often seen in patients with thalassemia, a genetic disorder caused by disturbances in the synthesis of globin peptide chains. Due to the disorder of protein and peptide chain synthesis, abnormal hemoglobin electrophoresis bands will appear in hemoglobin detection, which is helpful for the diagnosis of thalassemia.