The reference values of ischemia modified albumin levels in healthy people admitted to a university hospital

Objectives: The Ischemia Modified Albumin (IMA) test is a myocardial ischemia marker which may have potential use for the diagnosis of Acute Coronary Syndrome. The aim of this study was determine reference values of IMA test on the healthy people over the age of 15 who's admitted to Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University. Methods: This study was performed on 582 people over 15 years old and healthy in appearan- ce who had presented at the Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University Faculty of Medicine Rese- arch and Application Hospital. The year 2011 population of Turkey was taken as the reference in the distribution of the study group according to age group and gender. A survey which queried the demographic features and health problems was administered to the participants of the study and 9 cc venous blood was drawn. IMA levels were measured by using the spect- rophotometric method defined by Bar-Or. The mean, standard deviation, median, minimum, maximum, and 2.5 % - 97.5 % interval were used in order to detect the IMA reference values. Results: A total of 274 males (47.1 %) and 308 women (52.9 %) were studied. The mean IMA value of the examined group was 0.339 ± 0.093, and the median was 0.343 (Min-Max: 0.053- 0.631), while the 2.5 % - 97.5 % percentil values were 0.145 - 0.530. Conclusion: Studies that indicate the reference levels of the IMA for the diagnosis of ische- mic conditions are insufficient. Our study is expected to contribute to closing this gap.