Obesity can potentially influence the way in which routine blood tests are interpreted in children, as per findings of a latest research.
The research published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism conducted an intensive study on a large sample of children within a community and the findings revealed that nearly 70 percent of the blood test results were impacted as a result of obesity.
The acceptable blood parameters are determined on the basis of the otherwise healthy population, but the standards, as this study suggests, tend to change when the factor of obesity comes into play.
According to Victoria Higgins from The Hospital for Sick Children and The University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada who is also the primary author of this study, it is now imperative for patients and healthcare professionals to understand which blood tests are affected by obesity and in what manner.
"As clinical decisions are often guided by normative ranges based on a large healthy population, understanding how and which routine blood tests are affected by obesity is important to correctly interpret blood test results," Higgins said.
The researchers analysed the blood-work results of 1,300 otherwise healthy teens and children residing in the Greater Toronto Area and found that 24% of the samples which were evaluated for liver function, inflammation markers, lipids, and iron levels, were affected as a consequence of obesity.
Though it is still not clear whether such deviations are indicators of early disease, Higgins is hopeful that the findings will assist doctors and patients alike to evaluate and manage obesity among the youth.
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