Analysis of reference ranges of total serum protein in Namibia: clinical implications

Abstract

A reference range is an essential part of clinical laboratory test interpretation and patient care. The levels of total serum protein (TSP) are measured in sera to assess nutritional, liver, and kidney disorders. This study determined the TSP reference range with respect to gender, age, and region in Namibia. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the TSP reference range among 78,477 healthy participants within the ages of less than one year to more than 65 years in 14 regions of Namibia. The reference range of TSP was 51-91 g/L for females and 51-92 g/L for males. A reduced TSP range of 48.00-85.55 g/L (2.5-97.5 percentiles) was established at <1-5 years and increased towards adolescence. An uttermost range of 54-93 g/L was observed from 36-65 years of age. At the age >65 years; a steady decline in the reference range (51.00-89 g/L) was recorded. An upper TSP range of 53-92 g/L (2.5-97.5 percentiles) was detected in Erongo, Zambezi, Hardap, Kavango East, and a comparable trend was also seen in Omusati with a 54-91 g/L range. Meanwhile; a reduced TSP range of 50-89 g/L was identified in Ohangwena. This study showed that gender, age, and geographical location can impact TSP levels with a significant clinical difference (p < 0.05) between each category