Hematology reference values. Analysis by different statistical technics and variations with age and sex.

The following hematologic parameters in 1,744 healthy men and women aged 16 to 89 years were studied: leukocyte count, erythrocyte count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), and mean cell hemoglobin concentration. The frequency distributions of all parameters were statistically significantly deviated from Gaussian distributions. Standard Gaussian statistical methods as well as nonparametric methods were used to establish 95% reference intervals for each parameter. The effects of sex and age upon these parameters were also studied. Significant age differences, which were most striking for leukocyte count, erythrocyte count, MCV, and MCH, were detected.