Reference values for laboratory tests of cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin and creatinine of the Brazilian adult population

Abstract

Introduction: This article aims to estimate reference values for laboratory tests of cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin and creatinine for the Brazilian adult population. Methods: A descriptive study carried out with laboratory data from the National Health Survey (Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde – PNS). Samples of blood and urine were collected in a PNS subsample of 8,952 individuals aged 18 years old or older. To determine the reference values, exclusion criteria were applied: presence of previous diseases and outliers, defined by values outside the range estimated by the mean ± 1.96 × standard deviation. Subsequently, reference values were calculated according to gender, age group and race/skin color. Results: Differences in reference values according to gender were observed. Women had higher values of total cholesterol, LDL-c and HDL-c. Glycosylated hemoglobin showed similar values in relation to gender, and creatinine was higher among men. The mean reference values were higher in the elderly population, aged 60 years old or older. The mean, lower and upper limits of total cholesterol and fractions of non-white people were slightly lower. There was no difference according to race/ skin color for glycosylated hemoglobin and creatinine. Conclusion: The establishment of national reference parameters for laboratory tests, adapted to the sociodemographic and geographic characteristics, provides relevant information for evaluation of diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases in Brazil.