Apolipoprotein B and A-I values in 147 576 Swedish males and females, standardized according to the World Health Organization–International Federation of Clinical Chemistry First International Reference Materials

Abstract

Abstract Serum concentrations of apolipoprotein (apo) B and apo A-I were measured from 1985–1996 in a Swedish population sample of 83 112 males and 64 464 females, ages <20 to >80 years, using an automated immunoturbidimetric method calibrated against fresh pools of human serum and commercial calibrators. All values were recalculated in 1997 after calibration against the WHO-IFCC First International Reference Materials. The recalculation factor was 1.059 for apo B, whereas for apo A-I, the correction was: y = 0.989x + 0.101. The total CVs for both apo B and A-I were generally <7%. The mean value (± SD) for apo B was 1.31 ± 0.35 g/L in all males and 1.22 ± 0.36 g/L in all females. The mean apo A-I concentration was 1.36 ± 0.22 g/L in males–10% lower than in females (1.51 ± 0.24 g/L). The mean value of apo B increased up to 60 years of age in males and up to 70 years of age in females. apo A-I concentrations changed only slightly with age in both males and females. apo A-I concentrations among Swedes are nearly identical to those reported recently by two American studies and those obtained in a Finnish population sample. Mean apo B concentrations differ somewhat between the populations but mirror–as expected–differences in total cholesterol concentrations. The highest values were noted in Swedish subjects. The Swedish sample population is, to our knowledge, the largest describing the distribution of apo B and A-I in a general population of adult males and females of all ages determined with procedures standardized and traceable to the WHO-IFCC First International Reference Materials.