J Lab Med Qual Assur.
2006 Dec;28(2):229-237.
Establishment of Reference Value Using Korean Adult Medical Checkup Data and Interpretation of Test Results
- Affiliations
-
- 1Korea Medical Institute, Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Korea University, Korea. chokj@korea.ac.kr
- 2Department of Health Administration, College of Health Sciences, Korea University, Korea.
Abstract
-
BACKGROUND: There is room for doubt that the reference intervals currently used in many hospitals or health institutions in Korea are appropriate, because some scientists do not agree that the selections of reference individuals were valid universally. If we adopt the inappropriate reference intervals in the decision making of examinees' health status, we are liable to lead to false-negatives or false-positives.
METHODS
We selected 555 healthy and 2,134 unhealthy adult samples who took medical check-up at an institution between 2000 and 2004 through semi-stratified random sampling method. Disease groups were divided into 7 subgroups: hepatic, gastrointestinal, obesity, circulatory, endocrine, urogenital and others.
RESULTS
Through parametric and non-parametric methods, we produced new reference intervals and compared the newly developed intervals with current ones. Some reference values should be adjusted newly; ALT-male < or =33 IU/L, ALT-female < or =22 IU/L, AST < or =28 IU/L, cholesterol < or =198 mg/dL, triglyceride-male < or =172 mg/dL, triglyceride-female < or =133 mg/dL, fasting blood sugar 65-101 mg/dL.
CONCLUSIONS
In order to reduce the rate of false-positives or false-negatives, we suggest that reference ranges of some items might be reestablished or adjusted according to gender through the further studies on current reference ranges.