Along with calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride, phosphorus is one of the six essential minerals required by the human body in significant quantities.
Phosphate concentration is characterized by a high physiological variation, depending on age, gender, physiological state (eg, pregnancy), and even season (due to the seasonal variation of vitamin D which is directly involved in the regulation of phosphate concentration).
Therefore, separate reference intervals have been established according to the age and gender:
In males, the reference range is as follows:
Age 0-12 months - Not established
Age 1-4 years - 4.3-5.4 mg/dL
Age 5-13 years - 3.7-5.4 mg/dL
Age 14-15 years - 3.5-5.3 mg/dL
Age 16-17 years - 3.1-4.7 mg/dL
Age 18 years or older - 2.5-4.5 mg/dL
In females, the reference range is as follows:
Age 0-12 months - Not established
Age 1-7 years - 4.3-5.4 mg/dL
Age 8-13 years - 4-5.2 mg/dL
Age 14-15 years - 3.5-4.9 mg/dL
Age 16-17 years - 3.1-4.7 mg/dL
Age 18 years or older - 2.5-4.5 mg/dL
A lower than normal level may be due to many different conditions. Common causes include:
- Alcoholism
- Hypercalcemia (too much calcium in the body)
- Hyperparathyroidism (parathyroid glands make too much of their hormone)
- Too little dietary intake of phosphate
- Very poor nutrition
- Too little vitamin D, resulting in bone problems such as rickets (childhood) or osteomalacia (adult)
A higher than normal level (hyperphosphatemia) may be due to many different health conditions. Common causes include:
- Diabetic ketoacidosis (life-threatening condition that may occur in people with diabetes)
- Hypoparathyroidism (parathyroid glands do not make enough of their hormone)
- Kidney failure
- Liver disease
- Too much vitamin D
- Too much phosphate in your diet
- Use of certain medicines such as laxatives that have phosphate in them
Get a deeper understanding of your blood, urine, and stool test results.
$99 $79 per year
$6.60 per month billed annually
$15 per month
COVID-19 special offer!
$99 $79 per year
$250 single payment
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
Antiparietal Cell Antibody, Calcitriol (1,25 di-OH Vit D), Intrinsic Factor Antibodies (Serum), Methylmalonic Acid, Serum, Nicotinamide, Nicotinic Acid, Phosphate (Phosphorus), Vitamin A, Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), Vitamin B12, Vitamin B2, Whole Blood, Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Vitamin B6, Vitamin B9 (Folate/Folic Acid), Vitamin C, Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy, Vitamin E (Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Zinc, RBC
