Question about blood work

[profsanctvs]

I got my first physical (since college?!) earlier this week and I was hoping one of you ladies could help me dig deeper into the results. I'm a 32 yr old female in "normal" ranges for everything, but the ranges are pretty wide and I wanted to see if anyone could provide more of an fitness/nutrition perspective on the results. also, does anyone know if dietary sodium has much to do with blood sodium? any other metrics I should be looking at that have a bearing on athleticism, nutrition, or fitness? thank you!

LDL: 89 mg/dL

HDL: 70 mg/dL

triglycerides: 75 mg/dL

Fasting glucose: 80 mg/dL

sodium: 137 mml/L

calcium: 9.4 mg/dL

hemoglobin: 14.4 g/dL

hematocrit: 43.2%

RBC: 4.62 million/uL

 

[longsho7]

@profsanctvs Assuming normal physiology and cardiac function, oral sodium intake has little to do with serum sodium except in extreme cases (e. g. Dehydration, SIADH, etc) . Serum sodium is more of a reflection of volume status than overall health and you shouldn't use serum sodium as any marker of health, generally speaking.

Your lipids look great as does your fasting glucose. Regarding your hemoglobin and hematocrit, again, they too are normal. Of note, the RBC value you listed is of little clinical use and you need not really even consider this value. The MCV and RDW provide more clinically useful information than an RBC count, especially in the setting of anemia (which you don't have).

As you get older, the high sensitivity CRP (not to be confused with a regular CRP) may be useful to better define your cardiac risk. It is a value that essentially measures inflammation in your body and in a certain patient population, a high number (I believe greater than 0.2) can help determine if you may benefit from medicines such as aspirin or statins in those who would not otherwise qualify.

Generally speaking, I try not to rely on lab values to tell me if a patient is healthy or not. Obviously lipid panels, chemistry panels, and CBCs have a place in health surveillance, but more esoteric labs are generally unnecessary. As a woman, you will want to talk to your doctor about vitamin D levels. One of the best ways to prevent osteoporosis is to engage in weight-bearing exercise while you are still young. My personal opinion is that we currently worry too much about vitamin D levels and simply replacing it in everybody who is a little low has little clinical value.

Source:. Am an internist and pediatrician

 

[profsanctvs]

@longsho7 Wow cool thanks! Regarding osteoporosis, i think i got that on lock. I run 15 miles a week, do a lot of handstand work, and have what I'd call a "sturdy" body type lol.