Geometric mean concentrations of N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide in different age and sex groups in subjects defined as normal in the study sample¶
| Age (years) | Sex | N | NT-proBNP (pmol/l)* | Age (years)** | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Geometric mean (95% confidence interval). | ||||||
| **Median (5th to 95th centiles). | ||||||
| §Trend in the plasma concentration of NT-proBNP over age groups analysed by analysis of variance: | ||||||
| p<0.0001. | ||||||
| †Two sample t test; ‡Mann–Whitney test, women v men. | ||||||
| ¶Definition of “normal”: no congestive heart failure, no ischaemic heart disease, no history of hypertension, no diabetes, no lung disease, no cardiovascular drug treatment, left ventricular ejection fraction ⩾60%, blood pressure <140/90, and a normal ECG. | ||||||
| All | All | 130 | 18.7 (15.9 to 22.1) | 61.0 (51.8 to 80.4) | ||
| Women | 77 | 22.1 (18.0 to 27.1) | p<0.02† | 59.0 (51.9 to 80.4) | NS‡ | |
| Men | 53 | 14.8 (11.3 to 19.3) | 61.6 (51.6 to 82.4) | |||
| 50–59 | All | 59 | 13.1 (10.4 to 16.6)§ | 54.4 (51.5 to 58.7) | ||
| Women | 39 | 15.0 (11.5 to 19.6) | NS† | 54.4 (51.5 to 58.8) | NS‡ | |
| Men | 20 | 10.1 (6.4 to 16.0) | 54.7 (51.4 to 57.2) | |||
| 60–69 | All | 45 | 18.4 (14.5 to 23.5)§ | 63.5 (60.7 to 68.9) | ||
| Women | 23 | 25.8 (19.4 to 34.3) | p=0.003† | 64.1 (61.0 to 69.3) | NS‡ | |
| Men | 22 | 12.9 (9.1 to 18.5) | 63.1 (60.7 to 68.6) | |||
| 70–79 | All | 19 | 33.9 (24.6 to 46.7)§ | 74.9 (70.7 to 79.5) | ||
| Women | 11 | 32.4 (19.8 to 52.9) | NS† | 74.3 (70.8 to 79.5) | NS‡ | |
| Men | 8 | 36.1 (21.8 to 59.7) | 76.8 (70.7 to 79.0) | |||
| ⩾80 | All | 7 | 83.1 (42.7 to 162)§ | 83.1 (80.4 to 88.5) | ||
| Women | 4 | 132 (55.3 to 313) | p=0.03† | 83.3 (80.4 to 88.5) | NS‡ | |
| Men | 3 | 45.0 (19.0 to 107) | 83.1 (82.4 to 86.6) | |||