Jaundice is a yellow color in the skin, mucous membranes, or eyes. The yellow color comes from bilirubin, a byproduct of your body processing old red blood cells. Jaundice is often a sign of a disease.

This article talks about the possible causes of jaundice in children and adults. Newborn jaundice occurs in very young infants.

Causes of jaundice; Cholestasis

Jaundice is often a sign of a problem with the liver, gallbladder, or pancreas. Jaundice can occur when too much bilirubin builds up in the body. This may happen when:

• There are too many red blood cells dying or breaking down (hemolysis) and going to the liver.
• The liver is overloaded or damaged.
• The bilirubin from the liver is not able to properly move into the digestive tract.

Conditions that can cause jaundice include:

• Infections of the liver by a virus (hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatitis D, and hepatitis E) or a parasite
• Use of certain drugs (such as an overdose of acetaminophen) or reactions to other medicines or exposure to poisons (for example, poisonous mushrooms)
• Birth defects or disorders present since birth that makes it hard for the body to breakdown bilirubin (such as Gilbert syndrome, Dubin-Johnson syndrome, Rotor syndrome, or Crigler-Najjar syndrome)
• Chronic liver disease such as advanced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
• Gallstones or gallbladder disorders causing blockage of the bile duct
• Blood disorders
• Cancer of the pancreas
• Bile buildup in the gallbladder because of pressure in the belly area during pregnancy (jaundice of pregnancy)
• Cirrhosis of the liver

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Pitt HA, Nakeeb A. Bile secretion and pathophysiology of biliary tract obstruction. In: Jarnagin WR, Allen PJ, Chapman WC, et al, eds. Blumgart's Surgery of the Liver, Biliary Tract and Pancreas. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 8.

Wyatt JI, Haugk B. Liver, biliary system and pancreas. In: Cross SS, ed. Underwood's Pathology. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 16.