DETERMINATION OF BLOOD CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF CHINESE NORMAL ADULT STUDENTS

Fifteen blood chemical constituents, namely, serum total protein, albumin and globulin, plasma fibrinogen, non-protein nitrogen, urea nitrogen, uric acid, creatine, creatinine, blood sugar, total serum cholesterol, free cholesterol, cholesterol esters, serum calcium and inorganic phosphorus, were determined on about 50—350 Chinese normal adult students. The students were carefully selected to secure a narrow range of age group, equal distribution of sex, uniformity in nutritional condition and health; so that the results of the blood analyses can represent true normal values. The methods used for the analyses were chosen from literature, but most of them were properly modified or simplified to adapt to small blood samples. A volume of 10 ml of blood would be sufficient for the determination of the above fifteen constituents. The results of the determinations showed little difference between male and female students in the majority of the fifteen blood constituents. However, the concentrations of plasma fibrinogen were higher in the females, and those of uric acid, creatinine and non-protein nitrogen were higher in the males. There was very little difference between the blood constants of the Chinese and those of the Westerners taken from literature, except that uric acid concentration was slightly higher in the Chinese males, while the reverse was true for the average concentrations of non-protein nitrogen, urea and cholesterol. The blood sugar level was found to depend very much upon the length of the fasting period before blood sampling, low values being observed after prolonged fasting, especially when one was kept on work.