Low Cystatin C?

warlock · Jun 21, 2022

I'm hoping someone can help me understand if this is a good or a bad thing. I got my cystatin C levels back and they came out at 0.50. The range is 0.52 to 1.27mg/L.

Should I be concerned? Is a tad on the low side, ok? My guess is that the higher the Cystatin levels the worse, but maybe it's the opposite (the higher the better)?

If anyone knows and can chime in, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Reno911 · Jun 21, 2022

Lower is better. Here ya go:

When the kidneys are functioning normally, concentrations of cystatin C in the blood are stable. However, as kidney function deteriorates, the concentrations begin to rise. This increase in cystatin C occurs as the GFR falls and is often detectable before there is a measurable decrease in kidney function (GFR).

warlock · Jun 21, 2022

Reno911 said:
Lower is better. Here ya go:

When the kidneys are functioning normally, concentrations of cystatin C in the blood are stable. However, as kidney function deteriorates, the concentrations begin to rise. This increase in cystatin C occurs as the GFR falls and is often detectable before there is a measurable decrease in kidney function (GFR).

Great to hear that. I feel much better now. I got the results and quickly posted here to see if anyone knew before I even could sit down and google anything. I was freaking out because the same day I got the Cystatin C tested, my creatinine was a lot higher than usual (borderline high), and my EGFR was a lot lower than usual (in the 50's). However, I had been taking some anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxers the days prior to the test. I'm sure they affected my creatinine and EGFR levels.

Bio · Jun 22, 2022

warlock said:
I'm hoping someone can help me understand if this is a good or a bad thing. I got my cystatin C levels back and they came out at 0.50. The range is 0.52 to 1.27mg/L.

Should I be concerned? Is a tad on the low side, ok? My guess is that the higher the Cystatin levels the worse, but maybe it's the opposite (the higher the better)?

If anyone knows and can chime in, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I need to pull up my blood work because when I'm looking online, the range seems to vary. .52 to 1.27, which you have, is listed as well as .62 to 1.15. To be able to answer your question it would depend on which range is considered the industry standard.