Hematological and biochemical parameters in apparently healthy Indian population: defining reference intervals

Area of Science:

• Clinical Biochemistry
• Hematology
• Population Health

Background:

• Clinical laboratory reference intervals for the Indian population are inadequately defined.
• There is a critical need for localized reference intervals for accurate health assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the 95% reference interval for hematological and biochemical parameters in a healthy Indian population.
• To identify potential gender-specific differences in these reference intervals.

Main Methods:

• A multicentric, cross-sectional study involving 10,665 healthy Indian individuals.
• Estimation of 95% reference distribution using 2.5th and 97.5th percentile limits.
• Analysis of various hematological and biochemical parameters.

Main Results:

• Established 95% reference intervals for hemoglobin, platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum uric acid, gamma glutamyl transferase, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides.
• Observed significant differences between the derived intervals and currently used reference values.
• Identified the need for gender-specific reference intervals for triglycerides and gamma glutamyl transferase.

Conclusions:

• The established reference intervals for key parameters differ from existing values, highlighting the importance of localized data.
• Gender-specific partitioning is necessary for certain parameters like triglycerides and gamma glutamyl transferase.
• Further community-based validation studies are recommended to confirm these findings.