Premium
Haematological values from a Gambian cohort – possible reference range for a West African population
Author(s) -
ADETIFA I. M. O.,
HILL P. C.,
JEFFRIES D. J.,
JACKSONSILLAH D.,
IBANGA H. B.,
BAH G.,
DONKOR S.,
CORRAH T.,
ADEGBOLA R. A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
international journal of laboratory hematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.705
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1751-553X
pISSN - 1751-5521
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-553x.2008.01087.x
Subject(s) - anthropometry , mean corpuscular volume , underweight , medicine , cohort , reference range , reference values , percentile , population , obesity , demography , physiology , hematocrit , overweight , statistics , mathematics , environmental health , sociology
Summary The objective of this study was to establish haematological reference ranges for the West African subregion using a Gambian cohort. We analysed full blood counts from 1279 subjects aged ≥1 year. Anthropometric and body composition measurements were performed. Haematological mean values, medians and 90% reference values were calculated and related to malnutrition in children and thinness and/or obesity in adults. Haemoglobin (Hb) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) significantly increased with age ( P < 0.00001). There were gender‐related changes in Hb from 15 years of age ( P = 0.001) and for MCV only in adults ( P = 0.0002). Hb was significantly reduced in underweight and stunted children ( P = 0.0001 and 0.0002, respectively) but was unaffected by thinness or obesity in adults. White blood cell (WBC) and platelet counts were highest under 5 years and declined significantly with age ( P < 0.0001 and 0.0001). While, there were no gender‐related differences with WBC, there were higher WBC counts in underweight ( P = 0.0001) and stunted ( P < 0.0001) children. Adult females had significantly higher mean platelet counts compared with males ( P = 0.006). The mean and median values of haematological parameters in The Gambia are similar to other standards but the 90% reference range for each parameter encompasses lower values when compared with Western standards.