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. 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 2.57 (1.99, 3.17) 1.16 (0.93-1.48) 4.23 (3.88-4.66)
Female 87 2.55 (2.18, 2.88) 1.47 (0.97-1.77) 4.06 (3.42-4.18)
≥50 years Male 94 2.28 (1.90, 2.68) 1.27 (1.17-1.39) 3.34 (3.18-4.09)
Female 83 2.41 (1.96, 2.78) 1.39 (1.35-1.59) 3.56 (3.37-3.60)
PLP/PA <50 years Male 103 2.42 (1.68, 3.12) 0.76 (0.59-1.14) 5.15 (4.35-5.45)
Female 87 2.60 (1.74, 3.33) 1.27 (0.88-1.41) 5.73 (4.51-7.62)
≥50 years Male 94 1.96 (1.38, 2.49) 0.57 (0.43-1.00) 3.99 (3.46-6.12)
Female 83 2.41 (1.72, 3.13) 1.08 (0.95-1.37) 4.76 (3.79-5.73)
PAr <50 years Male 103 0.32 (0.24, 0.40) 0.15 (0.15-0.18) 0.69 (0.58-0.86)
Female 87 0.30 (0.22, 0.37) 0.14 (0.10-0.17) 0.54 (0.48-0.56)
≥50 years Male 94 0.38 (0.28, 0.47) 0.19 (0.13-0.21) 1.03 (0.66-1.37)
Female 83 0.32 (0.24, 0.39) 0.16 (0.13-0.19) 0.57 (0.47-0.61)

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.