Table 1.
Distribution of dried blood spots (DBS) by examiner compared to venous methods.
| Selected percentiles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyte (unit) | n | Specimen | Mean (SD)a | Min | 5% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 95% | Max |
| Hemoglobin A1c (%) | 125 | Venous | 5.57 (0.81) | 4.4 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 11.5 |
| 125 | DBS - health tech | 5.55 (0.86) | 4.0 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 6.8 | 10.9 | |
| 125 | DBS - interviewer | 5.58 (0.92) | 4.2 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 7.3 | 11.1 | |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 125 | Venous | 1.30 (0.38) | 0.54 | 0.78 | 1.04 | 1.24 | 1.53 | 1.97 | 2.95 |
| 125 | DBS - health tech | 1.12 (0.34)b | 0.41 | 0.67 | 0.91 | 1.11 | 1.32 | 1.71 | 2.33 | |
| 125 | DBS - interviewer | 1.15 (0.36)b | 0.44 | 0.65 | 0.91 | 1.11 | 1.32 | 1.76 | 2.28 | |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/l) | 124 | Venous | 4.85 (1.07) | 1.53 | 3.37 | 4.07 | 4.78 | 5.36 | 6.58 | 8.34 |
| 124 | DBS - health tech | 4.33 (0.86)b | 1.84 | 3.34 | 3.74 | 4.08 | 4.87 | 5.80 | 7.30 | |
| 124 | DBS - interviewer | 4.40 (0.85)b | 2.54 | 3.26 | 3.78 | 4.25 | 4.87 | 5.93 | 6.81 | |
a
SD, standard deviation.
b
Paired t-test: p < 0.05 for difference between venous and DBS means.