Hematological and biochemical parameters in apparently healthy Indian population: defining reference intervals.

Clinical reference intervals among Indian population are poorly defined. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish local clinical laboratory reference intervals for healthy Indian population. The present study aimed to identify the 95 % reference interval for hematological and biochemical parameters in apparently healthy Indian population. We undertook a multicentric cross-sectional study conducted at Apollo Hospitals Educational and Research Foundation across India. Of which 10,665 reference individuals identified as healthy by physicians. The 95 % of the reference distribution was estimated using 2.5th and 97.5th percentile reference limits. The 95 % reference intervals for hemoglobin (Males: 12.3-17 g/dL; Females: 9.9-14.3 g/dL), platelet count (Males: 1.3-3.8; Females: 1.3-4.2 Lakhs/µL), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (Males: 2-22; Females: 4-55 mm/h), serum uric acid in males: 3.5-8.2 mg/dL, gamma glutamyl transferase (Males: 13-61 U/L), fasting blood glucose (Males: 78-110 mg/dL), total cholesterol (Males: 115-254 mg/dL), low density lipoprotein (Males: 60-176 mg/dL) and triglycerides (Males: 55-267 mg/dL, Females: 52-207 mg/dL) were different from currently used reference values. Additionally need for gender based partitioning were observed for triglycerides and gamma glutamyl transferase. The observed findings are of clinical significance and it needs to be validated with additional community based studies.