What is Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) in Blood Test? What is High and Low MCHC Value? Causes & Treatment?
- Health Garden
- Feb 28, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 19, 2024
Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) is a blood test that shows the average amount of hemoglobin in red blood cells as a percentage (%).
Hemoglobin is a protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen from our lungs to the rest of your body.
MCHC is a parameter that shows the structural change of red blood cells in our blood with the sub-parameters MCV, MCH and RDW.
In anemia, whether MCHC is low or high helps determine the type of anemia.
What is A Normal MCHC Range in Blood Test ?
A normal MCHC range is 32 - 36 g/dl in adults. These values may vary between laboratories.
MCHC value can be calculated automatically with blood counting devices or manually if hemoglobin (Hgb) and hematocrit (Hct) values are known. The formula used for this calculation is: MCHC = Hgb / Hct x 100. This formula obtains the MCHC value by calculating the ratio of the amount of hemoglobin in the blood to the percentage of hematocrit. This method is an important tool for better understanding and monitoring laboratory test results.
What is High MCHC Value in Blood Test?
A high MCHC (Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration) value in a blood test is above the upper limit. This is defined as more than 36 g/dl in adults.
High MCHC can cause hyper chromia, or darker red blood cells.
However, just like low MCHC, slight elevations may not be clinically significant; because this may vary depending on the time the test is performed (morning or evening), season and person. To be clinically meaningful, your medical history, family history of anemia, hemoglobin level, red blood cell count (RBC) and levels of other red blood cell parameters such as MCV, MCH, RDW should also be known.
What Causes High MCHC Level in Blood Test?
The main reasons for high MCHC can be listed as follows:
Hemolytic anemia: It is a type of anemia that develops as a result of the breakdown of red blood cells for any reason.
Vitamin B12 and folate deficiency
Hereditary Spherocytosis: It is a type of congenital anemia. Due to the deficiency of some proteins in the structure of red blood cells, red blood cells break down, their size decreases and they take on a spherical shape. The relative average erythrocyte hemoglobin concentration increases due to shrinkage of red blood cells.
High MCHC Symptoms
High and low MCHC values cause similar symptoms. Both high and low MCHC values indicate that the oxygen you receive from your lungs will have difficulty reaching your other organs and tissues. Therefore, the prominent symptom in both cases is fatigue caused by not enough oxygen reaching the organs. Since your cells cannot get enough oxygen, you experience a feeling of serious fatigue, your metabolism slows down and weight gain occurs.
How to Treat High MCHC Level?
In order to treat high MCHC, it is first necessary to know what causes high MCHC. Although some medications and nutritional supplements can temporarily lower MCHC, treatments administered without finding the underlying cause may cause more harm than good in the future. Before correcting the MCHC level, your doctor may ask you for your medical history, family history, and perform additional tests.
If the cause is hemolytic anemia, that is, the breakdown of our red blood cells, the condition causing this breakdown can be found and treatment can be determined accordingly. Hemolytic anemias, which occur as a result of our immune system producing abnormal antibodies and are called autoimmune hemolytic anemias, can be treated with methods such as cortisone, drugs that suppress the immune system, and spleen removal (splenectomy). In congenital, hereditary or hereditary hemolytic anemias (including hereditary spherocytosis), treatment is planned according to the severity of the disease.
Removal of the spleen is one of the methods used to correct anemia in the hereditary disease spherocytosis.
If the cause of high MCHC is due to B12 and folic acid deficiency, it may be necessary to use these supplements in sufficient doses and for life, depending on the situation.
All these treatments must be carried out under the supervision of the doctor who follows the patient.
What is Low MCHC Value in Blood Test?
Low MCHC (Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration) value in the blood is a value below the lower reference value. This is defined as less than 32 g/dl in adults.
Low MCHC can cause hypochromia, or paler red blood cells, and hypochromia is a symptom of anemia.
However, since this test may vary depending on the time of testing (morning or evening), season and individual, slight decreases may not be clinically significant. To be clinically significant, it requires your medical history, family history of anemia, hemoglobin level, red blood cell count (RBC) and levels of other red blood cell parameters such as MCV, MCH, RDW.
What Causes Low MCHC Level in Blood Test?
The main reasons for low MCHC can be listed as follows:
Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia
Mediterranean anemia carrier and Mediterranean anemia disease
Anemia of chronic disease
Sideroblastic anemia
Low MCHC Symptoms
High and low MCHC values cause similar symptoms. Both high and low MCHC values indicate that the oxygen you receive from your lungs will have difficulty reaching your other organs and tissues. Therefore, the prominent symptom in both cases is fatigue caused by not enough oxygen reaching the organs. Metabolism slows down and weight gain occurs.
Get cold: One of the problems experienced due to not enough oxygen reaching your cells is the difficulty in balancing body temperature. While many people with abnormal MCHC values experience coldness, other people find the temperature in the same environment sufficient.
Rapid Pulse: In people with low MCHC values, the heart must work harder to distribute more oxygen to all cells. This causes your heart to beat faster. In fact, the heart of people with low MCHC values beats fast even when standing still. Some conditions that cause high MCHC levels can also cause increased heart rhythm.
Pale Skin or Yellow Skin Color: In people with hemoglobin problems, the skin color may appear pale or yellow.
Shortness of breath: In severe cases of anemia, shortness of breath may occur due to the body not getting the oxygen it needs.
Dizziness: Our brain, one of the most important organs of our body, needs high amounts of oxygen. Due to reasons such as anemia, less oxygen is carried to the brain, which can cause dizziness, blurred vision when standing up, and balance problems.
In case of very severe anemia, fainting, headache, chest pain, difficulty concentrating, and the desire to eat non-nutritious substances such as paper, soil, ice (pica) may occur. If you experience these symptoms, it is recommended that you consult the hospital without delay.
How to Treat Low MCHC Level?
In order to treat low MCHC, it is first necessary to know what causes low MCHC. Although the use of some medications and food supplements can temporarily increase the MCHC value, such treatments applied without finding the underlying cause may cause more harm than good in the future. Before starting treatment for low MCHC, your doctor may ask you to learn your medical history, family history, and have additional examinations. The most common cause of low MCHC is iron deficiency anemia. Once the underlying cause is determined, it may be beneficial to use iron medications recommended by your doctor.
If the cause of low MCHC is iron deficiency anemia and this condition is thought to develop due to nutritional deficiency, consuming foods with high iron content under the supervision of a dietitian can increase the MCHC value. However, it should not be forgotten that there may be non-nutritional causes such as bleeding or intestinal problems (absorption, tumors), in which case these cannot be corrected by simple nutritional adjustments. Each application must be done under the supervision of a doctor. If low MCHC is associated with iron deficiency in the diet, it may be necessary to avoid drinking large amounts of tea and coffee with meals as it may impair iron absorption. Additionally, iron absorption can be increased by consuming foods containing vitamin C.
What is the difference between MCV and MCHC?
Both are known as red cell index or red cell sub-parameter. MCV represents the average red blood cell volume. In other words, it is related to the shape of red blood cells. MCHC indicates the concentration of hemoglobin inside red blood cells, whether the red blood cells are pale or brighter. It is a parameter related to the appearance of the red blood cell rather than its shape.