Skip to main content
. 2026 Feb 17;13:1782217. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1782217

Table 3.

Reference intervals of vitamin B6 metabolites stratified by age and sex.

Variable Age group Sex n Median (Q1, Q3) P2.5 (95%CI) P97.5 (95%CI)
PLP (nmol/L) <50 years Male 103 38.44 (26.22, 50.54) 10.36 (7.49–16.91) 145.87 (84.12–150.60)
Female 87 39.65 (27.43, 56.85) 13.03 (7.08–17.03) 103.46 (71.05–115.04)
≥50 years Male 94 31.68 (23.91, 40.54) 9.27 (8.21–14.16) 142.96 (79.11–166.95)
Female 83 41.38 (31.08, 50.17) 16.83 (15.58–20.11) 173.06 (122.80–189.85)
PL (nmol/L) <50 years Male 103 14.66 (11.25, 17.65) 7.18 (6.10–8.61) 49.95 (26.74–66.34)
Female 87 14.78 (11.61, 17.95) 7.48 (7.12–9.33) 37.87 (24.65–52.11)
≥50 years Male 94 14.00 (11.01, 16.27) 6.58 (5.08–8.14) 54.62 (30.87–65.87)
Female 83 16.99 (14.24, 19.92) 7.78 (6.34–9.99) 71.43 (37.75–72.74)
PA (nmol/L) <50 years Male 103 15.67 (12.94, 18.07) 8.19 (6.39–10.21) 47.66 (32.32–67.21)
Female 87 15.23 (11.68, 18.84) 8.03 (5.84–8.68) 35.60 (27.52–44.61)
≥50 years Male 94 17.25 (13.76, 21.35) 9.23 (7.53–10.26) 46.35 (31.34–66.11)
Female 83 18.45 (14.14, 22.87) 9.34 (7.32–11.25) 52.90 (34.72–54.43)
PLP/PL <50 years Male 103 3.79 (2.94, 4.69) 1.72 (1.38, 2.19) 6.25 (5.78, 6.89)
Female 87 3.77 (3.22, 4.25) 2.18 (1.43, 2.62) 6.00 (5.05, 6.19)
≥50 years Male 94 3.37 (2.82, 3.96) 1.87 (1.73, 2.05) 4.95 (4.71, 6.04)
Female 83 3.57 (2.89, 4.11) 2.05 (2.00, 2.36) 5.26 (4.99, 5.32)
PLP/PA <50 years Male 103 3.27 (2.27, 4.21) 1.03 (0.80–1.52) 6.95 (5.81–7.36)
Female 87 3.50 (2.35, 4.49) 1.71 (1.18–1.90) 7.74 (6.05–10.28)
≥50 years Male 94 2.64 (1.87, 3.36) 0.76 (0.57–1.34) 5.38 (4.63–8.25)
Female 83 3.25 (2.32, 4.23) 1.46 (1.28–1.85) 6.42 (5.11–7.73)
PAr <50 years Male 103 0.26 (0.19, 0.33) 0.12 (0.12–0.14) 0.61 (0.48–0.76)
Female 87 0.25 (0.18, 0.32) 0.11 (0.08–0.14) 0.44 (0.40–0.50)
≥50 years Male 94 0.31 (0.24, 0.39) 0.15 (0.10–0.17) 0.89 (0.56–1.17)
Female 83 0.26 (0.19, 0.32) 0.13 (0.10–0.16) 0.48 (0.39–0.53)

The robust method based on Horn’s algorithm was used to calculate 95% reference intervals (P2.5–P97.5), and their stability was validated via nonparametric bootstrap resampling. PLP, pyridoxal 5′-phosphate; PL, pyridoxal; PA, 4-pyridoxic acid.