Age- and sex-specific reference intervals for superoxide dismutase enzyme and several minerals in a healthy adult cohort.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to establish RIs for clinically important markers including superoxide dismutase (SOD), serum copper, zinc, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate in a cohort of healthy Iranian adults.

Materials: A subsample from MASHAD cohort study was used to assess serum SOD, copper, zinc, calcium, magnesium and phosphate. Serum SOD was measured according to its inhibitory potential of pyrogallol oxidation. Micro- and macro-minerals were measured using flame atomic absorption spectrometry and a BT3000 autoanalyzer, respectively. Sex- and age-specific RIs were then calculated based on CLSI Ep28-A3 guidelines.

Results: Reference value distributions for studied parameters did not demonstrate any age-specific differences that were statistically significant. In addition, sex partitioning was not required for all parameters, apart from serum magnesium, which showed a wider range in females (0.81-1.26 mg/dl) compared with males (0.82-1.23 mg/dl).

Conclusion: The RIs established in this study can be expected to improve mineral assessment and clinical decision-making in the Iranian adult population.