Evaluation of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 in healthy Chinese Han adult serum.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to establish lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) reference intervals (RIs) in healthy Chinese Han adults as a clinical diagnostic indicator according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) C28-A3 guidelines.

DESIGN AND METHODS: Lp-PLA2 levels in 763 healthy Chinese Han subjects (392 males and 371 females) were determined by colorimetric analysis and the central 95th percentile RIs were determined using non-parametric statistical methods. The correlations between serum Lp-PLA2 and blood markers were analyzed by Spearman correlation analyses.

RESULTS: The Lp-PLA2 levels showed a Gaussian distribution with a statistically significant difference between females and males (t = 4.866, P < 0.001). The RIs of serum Lp-PLA2 were 194-640 U/L (18-49 years) and 208-698 U/L (50-88 years) for females, and 230-728 U/L for males. There was a positive correlation between Lp-PLA2 levels and age, Body Mass Index (BMI), as well as with levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), total bilirubin (TBIL), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (Tch), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), apolipoprotein B (apoB), glucose (Glu), high sensitivity C reactive protein (Hs-CRP), white blood cell (WBC), hemoglobin (HGB) and red blood cell (RBC) (P < 0.05). A negative correlation was found with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and Apolipoprotein AI (apoAI), and no correlation was found with platelet (Plt) levels.

CONCLUSION: Our results establish the RIs of serum Lp-PLA2 in healthy Chinese Han adults and demonstrate correlations between serum Lp-PLA2 and age, BMI, ALT, GGT, TBIL, TG, Tch, HDL-c, LDL-c, apoAI, apoB, Glu, Hs-CRP, WBC, RBC, and HGB levels.