Serum sialic acid in a random sample of the general population

Background: The serum sialic acid (SA) concentration has been reported to b e a potentially useful but nonspecific disease marker. We wanted to study w hich factors influence SA concentration in a well-characterized healthy pop ulation. Methods: SA was determined in 97 women and 96 men with a colorimetric Warre n method. Results: The mean +/- SD concentrations of SA were 634 +/- 109 (95% confide nce interval, 612-656) and 630 +/- 106 (95% confidence interval, 608-651) m g/L for women and men, respectively. The serum SA showed a significant posi tive association with body mass index and with systolic and diastolic blood pressure among both women and men. SA also correlated significantly with t he use of contraceptive pills and age among women and with smoking among me n. Conclusions: Our study suggests that SA does not increase with age in men b ut appears to increase with female menopause. The strong positive associati on with blood pressure may explain why SA predicts cardiovascular mortality . (C) 1999 American Association for Clinical Chemistry.