Values for 14 blood constituents in young adult Ghanaians in ACCRA, with comparative data from tropical and non-tropical countries

Abstract

We have examined the blood of healthy young adult Ghanaians, estimating haemoglobin, serum iron, total iron binding capacity, total proteins, albumin/globulin ratio, albumin, alpha 1, alpha 2, beta and gamma globulin, amino acid imbalance ratio, serum carotene, vitamin A, folic acid and vitamin B12. The results were compared with figures published in tropical and non-tropical countries. The haemoglobin concentration did not show any particular deviation from results published in other parts of the world. The serum iron was low in both sexes and the total iron binding capacity in females was higher. The total serum protein was slightly elevated and low albumin and high gamma globulin levels were found, in conformity with other studies performed in tropical countries. The amino acid imbalance ratio was also high. The serum carotene was very high and the vitamin A was within the range considered as normal in tropical and non-tropical countries. The average folic acid level did not differ from figures published from non-tropical countries, but in individual cases low values were found. The vitamin B12 concentration was similar to the values found in non-tropical countries.