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.