Objective: To determine reference ranges for serum Procollagen type I N-propeptide (PINP), one of the bone formation markers, in Thai women aged 40-70 years old.
Material and method: PINP was measured in fasting serum of 300 healthy Thai women who had never been diagnosed as osteoporosis. They were divided into 3 groups by age, 100 per each; the first were menstruating women aged 40-50 years, the second were 51-60 year old menopausal women, and the third were 61-70 year old postmenopausal women.
Results: The mean values of PINP with 95% confident interval in groups 1,2,3 were 42.67 (38.74, 46.59), 61.63 (55.94, 67.31) and 60.66 (55.35, 65.96) ng/ml respectively.
Conclusion: The present study showed PINP levels in Thai women in diferent age and menstrual status. The mean PINP in the postmenopausal group was higher than the premenopausal group, which confirmed postmenopausal women have more bone turnover rate.