Biological factors affecting concentrations of serum LpAl lipoprotein particles in serum, and determination of reference limits

Abstract

We used an electroimmunoassay to measure LpAl lipoprotein particles (lipoproteins containing apolipoprotein Al but not apolipoprotein All) in serum of a presumably healthy population of about 1000 subjects, noting sex- and age-related variations for the age interval four to 70 years. Results were higher for women than men. For males, the value for the 50th percentile of the distribution was highest in the 10- to 14-year subgroup, 0.69 g/L, decreasing to 0.60 g/L in adults. For females, the values increased regularly, from 0.59 g/L at ages four to 10 years to 0.79 g/L after age 55 years. The influence of puberty, menopause, oral contraceptives, alcohol consumption, and morphometric characteristics was studied. Only being overweight by more than 20% statistically influenced LpAl values in men and in women. We used these results to select a reference population and to establish reference limits of LpAl at ages 25 to 35 years: 0.40-0.95 g/L for men and 0.46-1.05 g/L for women.