Reference intervals of serum calcium, ionized calcium, phosphate and alkaline phosphatase in healthy Indian school children and adolescents

Objective: To develop age- and sex-specific reference interval of serum total calcium, ionized calcium, inorganic phosphates and alkaline phosphatase in healthy Indian children in the age group of 6-17 years. Design and method: Subjects for this study were selected from the schools of Delhi. The final analysis included 3,327 children in the age group of 6-17 years (1707 boys; 1620 girls). Results: The mean, standard deviation, 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 95th and 97th centile values of biochemical parameters for boys and girls are presented. All these parameters were significantly higher in boys than girls except serum ionized calcium. Serum total calcium (r -0.1362, p<0.001), serum inorganic phosphate (r -0.45, p<0.001) and serum alkaline phosphatase (r -0.5587, p<0.001) have shown inverse relationship with age. Conclusions: Reference interval of selected biochemical parameters for healthy Asian-Indian children in the age group of 6-17 years is presented. (C) 2010 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.