Reference Intervals of Haematological Parameters for Apparently Healthy Adults in Northeast Ethiopia

Figures & data

Table 1 The Mean, Median, and 95% Reference Intervals for Hematological Parameters in Healthy Adults from Northeast Ethiopia

Parameters	Sex	Mean	Median	95% RIs	95% RIs		P-value
					90% CI (Lower Limit)	90% CI (Upper Limit)
WBC (x10^9/L)	C	6.59	6.49	3.49–11.3	3.34, 3.71	10.43, 11.92	0.607
	M	6.52	6.46	3.54–10.9	2.72, 3.87	9.47, 11.96
	F	6.65	6.49	3.47–11.8	3.34, 3.65	10.43, 11.92
Neutrophil (x10^9/L)	C	3.60	3.63	1.22–7.04	0.53, 1.27	6.27, 7.97	0.734
	M	3.54	3.68	0.74–6.47	0.44, 1.50	5.83, 7.97
	F	3.65	3.62	1.25–7.87	1.22, 1.27	6.27, 9.11
Lymphocyte (×10^9/L)	C	2.31	2.16	1.07–4.23	0.80, 1.21	4.10, 4.28	0.362
	M	2.23	2.18	1.07–3.84	1.07, 1.18	3.81, 4.43
	F	2.38	2.16	0.88–4.25	0.79, 1.51	4.23, 4.28
Monocyte (×10^9/L)	C	0.52	0.52	0.10–1.01	0.08, 0.11	0.95, 1.16	0.009
	M	0.56	0.57	0.12–1.00	0.10, 0.19	0.95, 1.24
	F	0.48	0.49	0.08–1.05	0.05, 0.10	0.81, 1.23
Eosinophil (×10^9/L)	C	0.14	0.08	0.02–0.46	0.01, 0.02	0.39, 0.57	0.019
	M	0.15	0.09	0.02–0.48	0.02, 0.03	0.41, 0.82
	F	0.12	0.07	0.01–0.41	0.01, 0.02	0.39, 0.47
Basophil (×10^9/L)	C	0.03	0.03	0.00–0.09	0.00, 0.00	0.08, 0.10	0.238
	M	0.04	0.03	0.00–0.09	0.00, 0.01	0.08, 0.10
	F	0.03	0.02	0.00–0.09	0.00, 0.01	0.08, 0.10
RBC (×10^12/L)	C	5.05	4.95	3.98–6.12	3.70, 4.08	5.96, 6.48	< 0.001
	M	5.22	5.40	3.81–6.38	3.65, 4.05	6.12, 6.54
	F	4.87	4.79	4.06–5.85	3.65, 4.27	5.72, 6.08
HGB (g/dL)	C	14.3	14.3	11.2–16.8	10.5, 11.8	16.5, 18.1	< 0.001
	M	14.7	15.1	11.3–17.5	10.5, 11.8	16.8, 19.5
	F	13.9	14.0	10.8–16.1	10.1, 12.2	15.9, 18.1
HCT (%)	C	43.7	43.4	35.4–52.0	34.4, 36.2	50.5, 55.8	< 0.001
	M	45.0	46.1	35.2–53.9	34.7, 36.1	51.6, 63.9
	F	42.5	42.1	35.4–49.8	32.7, 37.1	48.9, 55.2
MCV (fl)	C	86.9	86.7	77.9–93.8	76.6, 80.6	93.6, 96.4	0.098
	M	86.1	85.9	77.0–93.6	76.5, 80.6	92.0, 93.6
	F	87.6	87.7	78.5–96.4	76.8, 81.7	93.8, 96.4
MCH (pg)	C	28.6	28.6	24.7–32.0	24.6, 25.7	31.1, 33.2	0.069
	M	28.3	28.5	24.7–32.4	24.4, 24.8	31.1, 33.3
	F	28.9	28.8	25.7–32.0	24.6, 26.4	31.2, 33.7
MCHC (g/L)	C	328	328	306–349	304, 307	347, 353	0.235
	M	327	328	304–349	301, 306	347, 353
	F	328	329	307–349	304, 316	348, 354
Platelet (×10^9/L)	C	264	269	131–391	117, 144	375, 436	< 0.001
	M	251	249	130–395	79, 141	361, 391
	F	276	274	144–434	89, 158	375, 441
RDW-CV (%)	C	13.0	12.9	12.1–13.8	11.8, 12.3	13.6, 14.5	< 0.001
	M	13.1	13.1	12.3–14.4	12.3, 12.5	13.8, 14.6
	F	12.8	12.8	11.9–13.6	11.5, 12.1	13.4, 13.8

Abbreviations: WBC, white blood cells; RBC, red blood cells, HGB: Hemoglobin; HCT: Hematocrit; MCV, mean corpuscular volume; MCH, mean corpuscular hemoglobin; MCHC, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration; RDW-CV, red cell distribution width-coefficient of variation; C, combined; M, males; F, females.

Table 2 Comparison of the Hematological Reference Intervals Obtained from This Study with the Currently Employed Reference Intervals and Other Ethiopian Studies

Parameters	Sex	Present Study	Northwest Ethiopia (Gondar) (21)	Northwest Ethiopia (Gojjam) (22)	Amhara State (13)	Southwest Ethiopia (23)	Currently in Use
WBC (x10^9/L)	C	3.4–11.3	3.2–8.8	3.5–11.5	3–11.2	NA	4–10
	M	3.4–10.9	NA	3.5–10.9	NA	3.3–11.6
	F	3.3–11.9	NA	3.6–11.9	NA	3.2–10.1
Neutrophil (x10^9/L)	C	1.2–6.7	1.6–5.1	Na	1.1–6.7	NA
	M	1.4–6.4	NA	NA	NA	1.01–7.22
	F	1.2–6.6	NA	NA	NA	1.08–6.69
Lymphocyte (×10^9/L)	C	1.2–4.2	1–3.5	NA	1.1–4.5	NA
	M	1.2–3.8	NA	NA	NA	1.1–3.84
	F	0.9–4.3	NA	NA	NA	1.2–3.98
Monocyte (×10^9/L)	M	0.12–1.00	NA	NA	NA	0.24–0.8
	F	0.08–1.03	NA	NA	NA	0.27–0.87
Eosinophil (×10^9/L)	M	0.02–0.57	NA	NA	NA	0.05–1.21
	F	0.01–0.40	NA	NA	NA	0.04–1.12
Basophil (×10^9/L)	M	0.01–0.09	NA	NA	NA	0.01–0.05
	F	0.01–0.09	NA	NA	NA	0.0–0.05
RBC (×10^12/L)	C	3.8–6.2	NA	3.93–6.1		NA	3.5–5.5
	M	4.1–6.5	3.53–6.93	3.9–6.2	4.0–6.0	4.3–6.7
	F	3.7–6.0	3.45–6.25	3.9–5.8	3.5–5.6	4.0–6.2
HGB (g/dL)	C	11.1–17.0	NA	12–19	NA	NA	12–18
	M	11.8–17.5	11.5–18.0	13.6–19.8	12–18.9	12.1–18.8
	F	10.4–16.2	11.0–16.7	12–18	10.7–17.5	12.3–17.9
HCT (%)	C	35.5–53.5	NA	40–58.2	NA	NA	37–54
	M	35.7–55.8	36.2–58.6	45–59	35.7–55.3	36.7–54.5
	F	34.4–50.2	32.1–56.6	39–55	32.2–50.1	36.9–51.6
MCV (fl)	C	77.6–93.8	85–100	89.5–107.5	81–100	NA	80–100
	M	76.6–92.3	NA	90–109	NA	74.8–93.9
	F	78.6–96.3	NA	90.3–106	NA	77.3–98.8
MCH (pg)	C	24.7–31.9	NA	28–34	25.3–34.6	NA	27–34
	M	24.3–31.7	26.6–33.3	28–34.4	NA	24.9–32.8
	F	25.7–33.4	25.8–32.8	28–34	NA	26.3–33.6
MCHC (g/L)	C	303–350	NA	30–332	288–369	NA	320–360
	M	298–353	295–344	30–333	NA	321–365
	F	307–350	285–344	30–332	NA	320–360
Platelet (×10^9/L)	C	131–391	128–432	NA	90–399	NA	150–350
	M	126–390	NA	106–352	NA	164–403
	F	144–434	NA	120–379	NA	202–445
RDW-CV (%)	C	12–13.8	12–17	NA	11.6–15.4	NA
	M	12.4–14.4	NA	NA	NA	12.5–17.6
	F	11.8–13.6	NA	NA	NA	12.4–15.6

Abbreviation: NA, not available.

Table 3 Comparison of the Hematological Reference Intervals Obtained from This Study with Reference Intervals from Other Selected Studies Conducted in Africa, as Well as Reference Intervals from the United States

Parameters	Sex	Present study	Ghana (10)	Kenya (28)	Uganda (29)	Tanzania (11)	USA (30)
WBC (x10^9/L)	C	3.4–11.3	3.4–9.2	2.8–8.2	2.8–8.2	3.0–7.9	4.5–11.0
	M	3.4–10.9	3.5–9.2	2.7–7.5	2.8–8.2	2.8–7.9	NA
	F	3.3–11.9	3.4–9.3	3.0–9.1	3.2–9.0	3.2–8.0	NA
Neutrophil (x10^9/L)	C	1.2–6.7	1.5–5.6	0.9–4.7	0.9–3.9	1.1–4.7	1.8–7.7
	M	1.4–6.4	1.5–5.9	0.9–4.3	0.9–3.8	1.1–4.8	NA
	F	1.2–6.6	1.4–5.5	1.0–5.6	1.1–4.4	1.2–5.4	NA
Lymphocyte (×10^9/L)	C	1.2–4.2	1.2–4.4	1.1–3.5	1.2–3.7	1.1–3.0	1.0–4.8
	M	1.2–3.8	1.2–5.2	1.1–3.2	1.2–3.6	1.1–2.8	NA
	F	0.9–4.3	1.2–4.4	1.3–4.0	1.3–3.7	1.1–3.1	NA
RBC (×10^12/L)	C	3.8–6.2	3.39–5.83	4.0–6.2	3.5–6.1	4.0–6.1	NA
	M	4.1–6.5	3.79–5.96	4.4–6.3	3.8–6.1	4.4–6.3	4.5–5.9
	F	3.7–6.0	3.09–5.30	3.7–5.6	3.3–5.3	3.8–5.6	4.0–5.2
HGB (g/dL)	C	11.1–17.0	9.8–16.0	6.7–11.1	10.8–17.1	11.7–17.2	NA
	M	11.8–17.5	11.3–16.4	8.3–11.3	11.6–17.1	13.7–17.7	13.5–17.5
	F	10.4–16.2	8.8–14.4	5.9–10.0	9.8–16.2	11.1–15.7	12.0–16.0
HCT (%)	C	35.5–53.5	28.9–48.7	30–50	31.2–49.5	36.5–52.7	NA
	M	35.7–55.8	33.2–50.5	40–50	33.8–49.5	40.2–53.7	41.0–53.0
	F	34.4–50.2	26.4–45.0	30–50	28.3–46.8	36.2–46.8	36.0–46.0
MCV (fl)	C	77.6–93.8	72–97	68.8–97.2	71–97	77.6–98.1	80–100
	M	76.6–92.3	70–98	71.4–98.2	71–97	76.4–98.8	NA
	F	78.6–96.3	73–96	66.0–95.7	74–94.5	77.7–97.9	NA
MCH (pg)	C	24.7–31.9	22.6–33.5	22.4–33.5	23.5–33.7	23.6–33.1	26.0–34.0
	M	24.3–31.7	22.7–33.5	23.3–33.8	23.0–33.8	23.1–33.2	NA
	F	25.7–33.4	22.3–33.6	21.3–33.0	24.8–32.7	24.2–33.1	NA
MCHC (g/L)	C	303–350	305–362	322–353	325–353	306–349	310–370
	M	298–353	306–360	324–353	324–353	306–351	NA
	F	307–350	30.4–36.5	322–352	330–355	304–348	NA
Platelet (×10^9/L)	C	131–391	89–380	120–411	109–384	150–395	NA
	M	126–390	88–352	115–366	106–362	147–356	150–350
	F	144–434	89–403	124–444	138–457	151–425	150–350
RDW-CV (%)	C	12.0–13.8	12.6–23.0	NA	11.0–16.8	NA	11.5–14.5
	M	12.4–14.4	12–23.4	NA	10.9–16.8	NA	NA
	F	11.8–13.6	12.6–22.9	NA	11.0–17.3	NA	NA

Abbreviation: NA, not available.

Table 4 Out of the Values Obtained, a Certain Proportion Fell Outside the Range When Compared to the Reference Values Currently in Use and Those from the United States

Parameters	Sex	Present Study	Currently in Use		Out of Range Comparison USA
			n (%)	95% Reference Interval	n (%)	95% Reference Interval
WBC (x10^9/L)	Combined	3.4–11.3	56 (17.7)	4–10	63 (19.9)	4.5–11.0
RBC (×10^12/L)	Male	4.1–6.5	49 (31.0)	3.5–5.5	28 (17.7)	4.5–5.9
	Female	3.7–6.0	19 (11.9)	3.5–5.5	53 (33.3)	4.0–5.2
HGB (g/dL)	Male	11.8–17.5	10 (6.3)	12–18	29 (18.4)	13.5–17.5
	Female	10.4–16.2	13 (8.2)	12–18	13 (8.2)	12–16
HCT (%)	Male	35.7–55.8	11 (7.0)	37–54	39 (24.7)	41–53
	Female	34.4–50.2	15 (9.4)	37–54	7 (4.4)	36–46
MCV (fl)	Combined	77.6–93.8	16 (5.0)	80–100	16 (5.0)	80–100
MCH (pg)	Combined	24.7–31.9	55 (17.4)	27–34	23 (7.3)	26–34
MCHC (g/L)	Combined	303–350	51 (16.1)	320–360	21 (6.6)	310–370
Platelet (×10^9/L)	Male	126–390	32 (20.0)	150–350	32 (20.3)	150–350
	Female	144–434	38 (23.9)	150–350	38 (23.9)	150–350
RDW-CV (%)	Combined	12.0–13.8	1 (0.6)	11.5–14.5	1 (0.6)	11.5–14.5

Data Sharing Statement

The data analyzed in this study are available from the manuscript.