Are Normal Values of Lab Tests Race-Dependent?
More Programs and Publications Featuring Dr. Kyle Riding
In this program:
Laboratory tests such as liver function tests and urinalysis tests can show some general variations by age, gender, or other factors – but is race one of them? Watch as medical laboratory scientist Dr. Kyle Riding shares lab test patients who sometimes show variation and which patient groups show generally show consistency.
Transcript
Leo Hesse:
Lab tests aren't cheap, and if you have a lapse in your coverage or are paying out of pocket, then you really want to make sure that you're making the most of it. Does normal vary from person to person or race, and are there noted discrepancies in these particular lab test methods you discussed today?
Dr. Kyle Riding:
So that's a great question, and individuals should always be thinking about lab tests as it relates to them, in terms of the liver function tests, the items that are in the liver function tests are fairly consistent across age groups, across genders, and across various races and ethnicities. When it comes to the urinalysis, I will mention one thing, and that is a difference that can occur between males and females of child-bearing on age, when it comes to those that blood finding on the urinalysis, if a female were to provide a urinalysis sample, and it was during their menstruation, there is a potential for some contamination of blood to occur, we shouldn't see a large amount of blood by any stretch, the urine should certainly still be yellow and clear, no hazing, no clouding. But those chemicals it dipsticks are very, very, very sensitive, and the microscopic viewing of the urine we sometimes do is very, very, very sensitive. So occasionally, just simply due to anatomy and physiology as it relates to menstruation, there can be a small, small amount of red blood cells for blood present and a menstruating female that we would not see in a male.
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