Serum ionized calcium, nephrogenous and total urinary cyclic AMP and urinary phosphate in normal subjects

Effects of age, sex, season and diet on serum ionized calcium, parathyroid hormone and vitamin D in a random population

OBJECTIVES

To study the influence of age, sex, season and diet on calcium status in normal subjects.

DESIGN

A random population study. Setting. Institutional clinic for large population studies.

SUBJECTS

The subjects were drawn randomly from the Danish Civil Registration System and represented a random sample of the background population in the area. The sample comprised 127 subjects (54 men and 73 women, aged 35-65 years).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The effects of age, sex, season and diet on parathyroid hormone (PTH),1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD).

RESULTS

There was no statistical significant difference for the serum concentrations of ionized calcium, PTH, 1,25(OH)2D and 25-OHD between the two sexes, nor any influence by age in either sex, in contrast to serum phosphate, which declined significantly in men (P < 0.05), but tended to increase in women. Serum PTH (P < 0.009) showed seasonal fluctuations, whereas serum concentrations of 1,25(OH)2D, 25-OHD, ionized calcium, phosphate and magnesium remained stable throughout the year. Dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D were not related to any serum variables.

CONCLUSIONS

In healthy subjects differences between the two sexes exist regarding phosphate metabolism. Serum PTH shows seasonal fluctuations.

Calcium determination in primary hyperparathyroidism

Calcium is the most closely controlled substance in the blood. The biologic variation of total calcium is approximately 2% and of the biologically active free (ionized, ionic) calcium only 1%. Thus, the monitoring of calcium in blood requires analytic procedures of high precision and accuracy. For patients with asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism, calcium monitoring involves the measurement of total calcium and free calcium. This review first considers the measurement of total calcium and then free calcium.

Optimal discrimination of mild hyperparathyroidism with total serum calcium, ionized calcium and parathyroid hormone measurements

The serum concentrations of calcium, albumin and parathyroid hormone (PTH) and the plasma levels of ionized calcium were determined in 124 healthy subjects, 89 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT), 23 of whom had the syndrome of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1) and 43 patients who had hypercalcaemia of other causes than HPT (non-HPT), in most cases due to widespread malignancies. The total serum calcium was corrected for the serum albumin concentration (CaM). Healthy females over the age of 50 had higher CaM, than younger females and the women of all ages also had, higher serum PTH levels than males. For all study groups both the intra- and inter-diurnal variations were small for all the studied variables. Discriminant function and optimal discriminatory limits were calculated with the help of computer programs. A consideration of all the individuals in the discriminant analysis, revealed that measurements of CaM alone separated most HPT patients both from the healthy subjects and from the non-HPT patients. However, when only those who had borderline values (defined as CaM between 2.45 and 2.75 mmol/l) were included it turned out that measurements of ionized calcium markedly improved the delineation of mild HPT from the healthy subjects and that, in addition, PTH measurements helped to exclude those with non-HPT hypercalcaemia. The optimal discriminatory levels of serum calcium were calculated as the levels which caused the minimum loss in terms of misclassification when attention was paid to the relative importance of false positive to false negative classifications and to the prevalence of HPT. The optimal discriminatory level for serum calcium for a weighting ratio between false positive to false negative of 1:1, and a prevalence of HPT of 1%, was calculated to be 2.68 mmol/l and for a prevalence of 50% 2.56 mmol/l. In the latter situation a weighting ratio of 10:1 for false positive to false negative gave a level of 2.63 mmol/l while a weighting ratio of 1:10 corresponded to an optimal discriminatory level of 2.47 mmol/l.

The calcium ion activity and the standardized excretion rate of calcium in urine of healthy adults

A standardized protocol is described for the study of the calcium excretion in urine. After 12 h of fasting, urine is collected during 4 h with a water load of 10 ml per kg body weight. Urine is also collected during the following 20 h period on the habitual water and calcium intake. Reference values for 48 healthy adults are given as 0.25 and 0.75 quantiles. The measured activity of calcium ions (Ca2+) in urine is 0.09-0.27 mmol/kg for the 4 h period, 0.34 to 0.52 mmol/kg for the 20 h period; pH values are 5.61-6.43 (4 h) and 5.46 to 6.04 (20 h). The concentrations of total calcium are 0.67-2.05 mmol/l (4 h) and 3.16 to 4.94 mmol/l (20 h). The value for the excretion rate of calcium (standardized to a creatinine clearance of 100 ml/min) is 1.30-3.24 mumol/min for the 4 h period and 3.06-4.88 mumol/min for the 20 h period, with no significant difference between the results for men and women. The relationship between the Ca2+ activity and pH was studied in urine titrated with HC1 or NaOH. In all urine the Ca2+ activity falls with increasing pH in a typical biphasic manner. This indicates the need for simultaneous measurement of the pH in order to interpret data for the Ca2+ activity in urine.

Sampling and storage of blood for determination of ionized calcium

We report some new procedures for the determination of ionized calcium using a semi-automatic ICA 1 analyser provided with a new flow-through tonometer unit, TNC 1, in connection with an automatic turntable. Ionized calcium calculated to a standard pH of 7.4 (cCa2+(7.4)) was not significantly different for capillary blood, venous blood and serum in healthy adults; however, a significant difference was found for actual ionized calcium (cCa2+). The effect of erythrocytes on the liquid junction potential was eliminated by use of a new salt bridge solution (sodium formate). Serum samples should be taken as anaerobically as possible to avoid precipitation of calcium complexes when pH increases above 7.9. For measurement of cCa2+-pH we developed special capillary tubes. Serum could be stored at 4 degrees C for 7 days and at -20 degrees C for 45 days without significant change in cCa2+(7.4). Capillary blood could be stored at 4 degrees C for 4 h without significant change in cCa2+ and pH or at 4 degrees C or 20 degrees C for 24 h without significant change in cCa2+(7.4). Vein puncture with stasis or muscular exercise caused only a small increase in cCa2+(7.4) (1.5%). The ingestion of food did not affect cCa2+ in healthy adults. 97.5% CO2 equilibrium was obtained in 3 min with the new flow-through tonometer.

Urinary cyclic AMP in spot urine of healthy children

We present reference values for the excretion of cAMP in spot urine collected between 09.00 and 12.00 hours in 143 healthy children aged 2-200 months. The excretion of cAMP was creatinine-corrected and expressed as a substance concentration ratio (UcAMP/crea)U due to a positive significant correlation between the excretion of cAMP and creatinine (r = 0.68, p less than 0.001). The mean value (95% significance limits) for (UcAMP/crea)U was 748 mumol/mol (254-2206 mumol/mol). A logarithmic transformation of the ratio was used, since preliminary analysis showed uneven distribution; when the logarithmic transformation was used, the data appeared evenly distributed. There was no significant difference between the results for girls and boys. The value of lg(UcAMP/crea)U was related to the age or body surface area with decreasing values at higher age or body surface area. (r = -0.55 and r = -0.57, p less than 0.001). Spot urine for measurement of urinary cAMP instead of a 24 h collection appears preferable due to the practicability of the test in children.