Related Experiment Videos
[Reference ranges in geriatrics: a review of age-dependence of selected blood components]
1Klinikum Nord Ochsenzoll, Abteilung für Laboratoriumsmedizin, Hamburg.
Insights
Blood component levels change with age, particularly in the elderly. Intraindividual reference ranges are recommended for early detection of latent diseases in older adults.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Clinical Chemistry
- Biochemistry
Context:
- Age-related changes in blood components are well-documented in children but less studied in the elderly.
- Significant interindividual variability in blood analytes is observed in older adults compared to younger adults.
Purpose:
- To investigate age-related changes in blood analytes in the elderly population.
- To evaluate the suitability of current reference intervals for elderly individuals.
- To explore alternative methods for monitoring health in aging populations.
Summary:
- Blood analyte concentrations remain stable for some parameters but change with age for others in adults.
- Higher interindividual variability in blood parameters is noted in the elderly.
- Current reference intervals may not be optimal for the elderly due to increased variability and potential inclusion of diseased individuals.
Impact:
- Recommends against using special adapted reference intervals for the elderly at present.
- Advocates for the use of intraindividual reference ranges in high-age individuals.
- Suggests intraindividual ranges can facilitate earlier detection of latent diseases compared to cross-sectional data evaluation.
Abstract:
An age dependency of blood components is well documented especially in childhood. Less investigated is the situation in the elderly population. Study of the literature and our own investigations show that concentrations of several analytes remain constant throughout adulthood, but many of them increase or decrease with age. The interindividual variability of most parameters is higher in elderly people than in younger adults. Therefore, it is not recommended at the present time to use special adapted reference intervals, because the larger variation of values in higher ages could be affected by the inclusion of diseased individuals in the reference population. Also in high ages, where biochemical individuality is largely maintained, intraindividual reference ranges should be preferred. Thus, latent diseases could be detected much earlier than by transversal evaluation of data.