Wallach's Interpretation of Diagnostic Tests: Pathways to Arriving at a Clinical Diagnosis (812 page)

Decreased In

   Acute illness such as a heart attack

   Malnutrition

   Liver disease

   Myeloproliferative diseases

   Chronic anemias

   Infection

   Hyperthyroidism

   Stress

   Primary lipoproteinemias

   Tangier disease (familial alphalipoprotein deficiency)

   Limitations

   Intraindividual variation may be up to 10%.

   Seasonal variation is 8% higher in the winter than in summer.

   Positional variation is 5% and 10–15% lower when phlebotomized sitting or recumbent, respectively, as opposed to standing.