Table 7.

Biochemical markers of highly active and sedentary women ^a,b.

Blood Parameter	Reference Range	Activity Level		p-Value
		Highly Active	Sedentary
		n = 29	n = 29
Folate c	>3 ng/mL	11 ± 4	11 ± 4	0.91
Number below reference range (n (%))		0 (0)	0 (0)
Red blood cell folate c	>140 ng/mL	444 ± 83	436 ± 122	0.79
Number below reference range (n (%))		0 (0)	0 (0)
Vitamin B12 c	>170 pg/mL	647 ± 267	552 ± 168	0.11
Number below reference range (n (%))		0 (0)	0 (0)
Transcobalamin II d	13–244 pg/mL	148 ± 115	146 ± 82	0.92
Number below reference range (n (%))		0 (0)	2 (7)
Number above reference range (n (%))		2 (7)	2 (7)
Pyridoxal 5′-phosphate c	>20 nmol/L	53 ± 34	45 ± 26	0.33
Number below reference range (n (%))		0 (0)	2 (7)
Homocysteine c	<14 μmol/L	6 ± 2	6 ± 2	0.93
Number above reference range (n (%))		0 (0)	0 (0)
Mean corpuscular volume e	78–100 fL	89 ± 6	89 ± 3	0.91
Participants below the reference range (n (%))		1 (3)	0 (0)
Hemoglobin e	11.5–16.0 g/dL	13.5 ± 1.1	13.8 ± 0.7	0.23
Participants below the reference range (n (%))		1 (3)	0 (0)
Hematocrit e	35%–48%	40 ± 3	40 ± 2	0.78
Participants below the reference range (n (%))		1 (3)	0 (0)
High sensitivity C-reactive protein e median (interquartile range)	<1.0 mg/L	0.5 (3.2)	0.4 (1.0)	0.55
Participants above the reference range (n (%))		10 (34)	8 (28)

^a Mean ± standard deviation, except where noted. ^b Independent sample t-tests used to examine differences for all parameters except C-reactive protein (Mann Whitney U test). ^c Reference value from Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine [18]. ^d Reference value from Herzlich and Herbert [37]. ^e Reference value from Sonora Quest Laboratories. * p < 0.05.