@article {1413, title = {Hematological and biochemical laboratory values in older Cardiovascular Health Study participants.}, journal = {J Am Geriatr Soc}, volume = {43}, year = {1995}, month = {1995 Aug}, pages = {855-9}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: To define reference hematologic and biochemical lab values in older individuals.

DESIGN: Randomly selected, age- and gender-stratified participants.

SETTING: Visits by participants to four research clinics.

PATIENTS: A total of 5201 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study, an observational study of older Medicare-eligible individuals living at home.

MEASUREMENT: Information about health status, previous illness, and medication use was obtained from participants and/or their MDs. This information was used to define a healthy subset of the population. Blood samples were obtained for Cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol, fasting and 2-hour postload glucose and insulin, fibrinogen, factors VII and VIII, potassium, creatinine, albumin, uric acid, white blood count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and platelet count.

RESULTS: Significant differences were found for age group and/or gender for all mean values. Many tests were significantly different from the generally accepted reference ranges used in clinical laboratories.

CONCLUSIONS: In some situations accepted laboratory norms for the general population can not be extrapolated to older adults. There are implications for both research and clinical practice.

}, keywords = {Age Factors, Aged, Analysis of Variance, California, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cohort Studies, Female, Health Status, Humans, Male, Maryland, Middle Aged, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Reference Values, Risk Factors, Sex Characteristics}, issn = {0002-8614}, author = {Robbins, J and Wahl, P and Savage, P and Enright, P and Powe, N and Lyles, M} } @article {595, title = {The relationship of fibrinogen and factors VII and VIII to incident cardiovascular disease and death in the elderly: results from the cardiovascular health study.}, journal = {Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol}, volume = {19}, year = {1999}, month = {1999 Jul}, pages = {1776-83}, abstract = {

Little is known about the prospective associations of fibrinogen, factor VII, or factor VIII with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in the elderly. At baseline in the Cardiovascular Health Study (5888 white and African American men and women; aged >/=65 years), we measured fibrinogen, factor VIII, and factor VII. We used sex-stratified stepwise Cox survival analysis to determine relative risks (RRs) for CVD events and all-cause mortality (up to 5 years of follow-up), both unadjusted and adjusted for CVD risk factors and subclinical CVD. After adjustment, comparing the fifth quintile to the first, fibrinogen was significantly associated in men with coronary heart disease events (RR=2.1) and stroke or transient ischemic attack (RR=1.3), and also with mortality within 2.5 years of follow-up (RR=5.8) and later (RR=1.7). Factor VIII was significantly associated in men with coronary heart disease events (RR=1.5) and mortality (RR=1.8), and in women with stroke/transient ischemic attack (RR=1.4). For both factors, values were higher in those who died, whether causes were CVD-related or non-CVD-related, but highest in CVD death. Factor VII exhibited associations with incident angina (RR=1.44) in men and with death in women (RR, middle quintile compared with first=0.66). However, in general, factor VII was not consistently associated with CVD events in this population. We conclude that, if confirmed in other studies, the measurement of fibrinogen and/or factor VIII may help identify older individuals at higher risk for CVD events and mortality.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cardiovascular Diseases, Factor VII, Factor VIII, Female, Fibrinogen, Humans, Male, Multivariate Analysis, Risk Factors}, issn = {1079-5642}, doi = {10.1161/01.atv.19.7.1776}, author = {Tracy, R P and Arnold, A M and Ettinger, W and Fried, L and Meilahn, E and Savage, P} }