In malnutrition indicators, transthyretin is used as a marker for which condition?

• A. Acute malnutrition
• B. Chronic malnutrition
• C. Electrolyte imbalance
• D. Liver failure

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that the usefulness of a nutritional marker depends on how quickly it reflects changes in diet. Transthyretin (prealbumin) has a very short half-life, about 2 days, so its blood level changes rapidly in response to recent protein-energy intake. This makes it a sensitive indicator of acute, recent malnutrition rather than long-standing, chronic malnutrition. In contrast, markers with longer half-lives reflect longer-term status, so they’re less useful for detecting recent changes. Electrolyte imbalance isn’t what transthyretin specifically tracks, and liver failure can affect many proteins, but for identifying recent nutritional deficiency, transthyretin best points to acute malnutrition.