Intact parathyrin in postmenopausal women.
To establish a reference range, we measured intact parathyrin (parathyroid hormone, PTH) in 245 healthy postmenopausal women, ages 42-75 years, with use of the Allegro Intact PTH Kit from Nichols Institute Diagnostics. We also assayed serum from a subset of 120 of the women with kits specific for mid-molecule PTH. The mean intact PTH concentration for the 245 women was 32 ng/L (95% confidence interval 14-60 ng/L). Intact PTH values in these subjects were not normally distributed, although calcium concentrations in the same samples were. There was positive, but not significant (r = 0.12, P = 0.06), correlation between intact PTH and age, and a significant negative correlation between serum calcium and intact PTH that was not observed between calcium and mid-molecule PTH. The improved sensitivity of the intact PTH assay makes it useful in studies of calcium homeostasis in the normal population.
Sokoll
L J
LJ
Calcium and Bone Metabolism Laboratory, USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111.
Morrow
F D
FD
Quirbach
D M
DM
Dawson-Hughes
B
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010281:Parathyroid Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012016:Reference Values
D010281:Parathyroid Hormone; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D002118:Calcium