Establishing Reference Values for Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Subsets of Healthy Children in China Using a Single...

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Pediatric Hematology

Background:

• Lymphocyte subset counts naturally change throughout childhood.
• Accurate, age-specific reference values are essential for diagnosing pediatric immune disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish age- and sex-specific reference intervals for lymphocyte subsets in healthy children.
• To provide a reliable basis for assessing immune status in pediatric conditions.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed peripheral blood from 813 healthy children using standardized methods (CLSI C28-A3).
• Employed statistical techniques including Box-Cox transformation and Tukey's method for data normalization and outlier removal.
• Stratified data by age groups (0-18 years) and sex to identify relevant factors.

Main Results:

• Age significantly impacts lymphocyte subset counts in children.
• Absolute counts of lymphocytes, T cells, CD4 T cells, CD8 T cells, and B cells increase in the first year and decline thereafter.
• CD4 T cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio decrease with age, while CD8 T and DNT cells increase; NK and NKT-like cells increase and stabilize after one year.

Conclusions:

• Age-related reference intervals for lymphocyte subsets in children were successfully established.
• These reference values are vital for accurate monitoring and assessment of immune system changes in pediatric diseases.