title: Complete blood count reference intervals for healthy Han Chinese adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Complete blood count (CBC) reference intervals are important to diagnose diseases, screen blood donors, and assess overall health. However, current reference intervals established by older instruments and technologies and those from American and European populations are not suitable for Chinese samples due to ethnic, dietary, and lifestyle differences. The aim of this multicenter collaborative study was to establish CBC reference intervals for healthy Han Chinese adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 4,642 healthy individuals (2,136 males and 2,506 females) were recruited from six clinical centers in China (Shenyang, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Xi'an). Blood samples collected in K2EDTA anticoagulant tubes were analyzed. Analysis of variance was performed to determine differences in consensus intervals according to the use of data from the combined sample and selected samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median and mean platelet counts from the Chengdu center were significantly lower than those from other centers. Red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), and hematocrit (HCT) values were higher in males than in females at all ages. Other CBC parameters showed no significant instrument-, region-, age-, or sex-dependent difference. Thalassemia carriers were found to affect the lower or upper limit of different RBC profiles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We were able to establish consensus intervals for CBC parameters in healthy Han Chinese adults. RBC, HGB, and HCT intervals were established for each sex. The reference interval for platelets for the Chengdu center should be established independently.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Science, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Xinzhong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Baishen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: National Center for Clinical Laboratories, Beijing Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Mingting
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Lanlan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Xijing Hospital, the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoke
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Science, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Xianzhang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Runqing
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: National Center for Clinical Laboratories, Beijing Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wenxiang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Xijing Hospital, the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Yueyun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D001782:Blood Donors; D002681:China; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit / Q000379:methods; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins