[Normal cholesterol and triglyceride levels in serum: comparison of enzymatic and colorimetric methods (author's...

Three methods were used to determine the normal ranges for cholesterol and triglyceride in serum of 385 blood donors (289 men, 96 women, aged 18-50 years). Enzymatically determined cholesterol levels had an upper normal range to 6.73-6.99 mmol/l (2.6-2.7 g/l), i.e. lower than with the colorimetric method. The upper range for the triglycerides was 2.28-2.85 mmol/l (2.0-2.5 g/l). Both variables were age and sex-dependent. It is suggested that in assessing lipid levels they should be divided into normal, border-line and definitely abnormal values.