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Plasma-serum cholesterol differences in children and use of measurements from different specimens

Nina E Berentzen1, Alet H Wijga, Lenie van Rossem

  • 1Center for Nutrition, Prevention, and Health Services, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.

Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism
|February 8, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Plasma and serum cholesterol levels differ in children, with plasma showing a more favorable lipid profile. However, ranking children by cholesterol concentration remains highly consistent between plasma and serum measurements.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric lipidology
  • Biomarker analysis
  • Clinical chemistry

Background:

  • Assessing differences between plasma and serum measurements for key lipid biomarkers in pediatric populations.
  • Evaluating the impact of sample type (plasma vs. serum) on lipid profiles in children.
  • Investigating the clinical significance of plasma-serum discrepancies in pediatric cholesterol assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare absolute differences and ranking consistency of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), and TC/HDLC ratio between plasma and serum in children.
  • To determine if plasma or serum measurements provide a more favorable lipid profile in pediatric subjects.
  • To assess the reliability of using plasma and serum for tracking longitudinal changes in lipid parameters.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from 412 children in a Dutch birth cohort.
  • Measurement of TC, HDLC, and TC/HDLC ratio in plasma at ages 8 and 12 years, and in serum at age 12 years.
  • Statistical comparison of absolute values and calculation of intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for ranking.

Main Results:

  • Plasma measurements showed systematically lower TC, higher HDLC, and lower TC/HDLC ratio compared to serum at age 12 years (p < 0.0001).
  • High ICCs (0.970-0.979) indicated excellent ranking consistency for TC and TC/HDLC ratio between plasma and serum at age 12.
  • Very high ICCs (0.955-0.971) demonstrated strong consistency in ranking for 8- to 12-year changes in all lipid parameters.

Conclusions:

  • Significant, systematic differences exist between plasma and serum lipid profiles in children.
  • Despite differences, plasma and serum measurements maintain high consistency in ranking children's lipid status.
  • Ranking changes in cholesterol levels over time is valid using mixed plasma and serum measurements.
Abstract

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