in the US cholesterol is measured in mg/unit of blood - can anyone tell me the US ref ranges equivalent to our mmol/l for the following please?:

• Total cholesterol (TC): 3.6-6.5 mmol/l, though ideally it should be below 5.0 mmol/l

• LDL cholesterol: <3.4 mmol/l

• HDL cholesterol: >0.9 mmol/l

• Triglycerides (TG): 0.3-1.7 mmol/l

Thanks

To convert from mmol/L to mol/L divide by 1000.

To convert from mol/L to g/L multiply by 387 (Cholesterol is approximately 387g/mol).

To convert from g/L to g/unit multiply by 0.45 (a unit of blood is 450ml).

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(3.6 mmol / L) x (1 mol / 1000 mmol) = 0.0036 mol/L

x 387g/mol = 1.3932g/L

x 0.45 = 0.62694 g/unit = 623 mg/unit

3.6 mmol/L --> 623 mg/unit (138 mg/dL)

6.5 mmol/L --> 1,106 mg/unit (246 mg/dL)

5.0 mmol/L --> 871 mg/unit (194 mg/dL)

3.4 mmol/L --> 592 mg/unit (132 mg/dL)

0.9 mmol/L --> 157 mg/unit (34 mg/dL)

0.3 mmol/L --> 52 mg/unit (12 mg/dL)

1.7 mmol/L --> 296 mg/unit (66 mg/dL)

As for what the US gov or American heart association recommends... I don't know :) I'm looking on the latter site right now...

Edit: After looking around on the American Heart Association website, I noticed that most of the measurements were given in mg/dL ( 1dL = 100mL or 1/10 L).... so I added those conversions above.

Taken from the AHA:

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol levels of 130-159 mg/dL are considered borderline high. Levels of 160-189 mg/dL are classified as high, and levels of 190 mg/dL or higher are very high.
(Source: NHANES [1999-2004, NCHS and NHLBI)

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol levels of less than 40 mg/dL are associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease.
(Source: NHANES [1999-2004, NCHS and NHLBI)

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=536 (statistics from AHA). The two significant numbers they gave for total cholesterol levels were 200 mg/dL and 240 mg/dL. I would guess that under 200 mg/dL is equivalent to your "Ideally should be under 5.0 mmol/L measurement" and that 240 mg/dL is the upper end of the recommended range.

Note: the "easy" conversion from mmol/L --> mg/dL is just to multiply by 38.7 (or 39). The easy conversion from mmol/L --> mg/unit is just to multiply by ~174.

Thanks mate - useful

I'm using it for an article

James Collier MuscleTalk Co-Owner + Head Moderator
Nutrition Consultant www.healthyaction.co.uk
Email: james@muscletalk.co.uk

James
In future you might find this site useful.
http://dwjay.tripod.com/conversion.html

excellent link

Thanks loads to both of you

James Collier MuscleTalk Co-Owner + Head Moderator
Nutrition Consultant www.healthyaction.co.uk
Email: james@muscletalk.co.uk