Age-related reference values for urinary organic acids in a healthy Turkish pediatric population

Abstract

Organic acid concentrations were quantified by gas chromatography and the individual acids identified by mass spectrometry in urine specimens from a healthy Turkish pediatric population of ages 2 days to 16 years, subdivided into five age groups. We quantified 69 organic acids (32 major and 37 minor components) and report here the median values and percentiles for each compound, adjusted for creatinine content, for the five groups. Concentrations of most of the organic acids tend to decrease with age but display substantial differences between age groups. This emphasizes the importance of comparing patients' data with age-matched reference data. Correlations between the excretion of organic acids and protein or caloric intake were significant for several compounds.