Abstract
Objectives
Understanding the normal range of laboratory values as pertained to different age groups and males or females is paramount in health care delivery. We aimed to assess the distribution of morning fasting serum glucose levels by age and sex in the general population of children using a large-scale population-based cohort.
Methods
A retrospective study with real-world de-identified data from a large, state mandated health fund in Israel among children aged 2–18 years old between 2006 and 2019. Age, sex, and BMI differences in mean glucose levels were evaluated.
Results
Study included 130,170 venous blood samples from 117,411 children, 53.3 % were female. After adjusting for age boys had higher fasting serum glucose levels than girls, with a mean of 89.21 ± 8.66 mg/dL vs. 87.59 ± 8.35 (p<0.001) [4.95 ± 0.48 mmol/L vs. 4.86 ± 0.46]. Compared to the 15 to 18 year-olds (88.49 ± 7.63 mg/dL) [4.92 ± 0.42 mmol/L], 2 to 5 year-olds had lower glucose levels (84.19 ± 10.65, [4.68 ± 0.59] (p<0.001)), 11 to 14 year-olds had higher glucose (90.40 ± 7.42 [5.02 ± 0.41], (p<0.001)) and 6 to 10 year-olds showed no difference (88.45 ± 8.25) [4.91 ± 0.46]. 33.0 % (n=42,991) had a BMI percentile record the same year as their glucose test result. There was a weak yet significant positive association between blood glucose levels and BMI.
Conclusions
Our large cohort indicates that boys have slightly higher fasting serum glucose levels than girls, as do adolescents compared to younger children. This finding is important for the delivery of adequate health care, screening for illness and avoiding unnecessary investigations and tests.
Funding source: Maccabi Health Care Services, Marom program
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Research ethics: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the MHS Ethics Committee (No. MHS-20-0010).
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Informed consent: Not applicable.
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Competing interests: The authors have no conflict of interest. The sponsor had no role in study design; the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; the writing of the report; and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
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Research funding: This study was funded by Maccabi Healthcare Services “Marom”, a research program for physicians in Maccabi Healthcare Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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