Synonyms
TG
Clinical Significance
To assess your risk of developing heart disease; to monitor effectiveness of lipid-lowering therapy
Screening: as part of a lipid profile during a regular medical exam at least once every four to six years for adults; for children, at least once between the ages of 9 and 11 and again between the ages of 17 and 21
Monitoring: may be done more frequently if you have risk factors for heart disease and/or if you are being treated for unhealthy lipid levels
Specimen
Serum
Stability
Refrigerated (preferred) : 7 days
Frozen : 30 days
Reference Range
< 150 mg/dL
Interpretation
For adults, triglyceride test results are categorized as follows:
Desirable : Less than 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L)
Borderline high : 150 to 199 mg/dL (1.7-2.2 mmol/L)
High : 200 to 499 mg/dL (2.3-5.6 mmol/L)
Very high: Greater than 500 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L)
For children, teens and young adults:
From newborn to age 9
Acceptable : Less than 75 mg/dL (0.85 mmol/L)
Borderline high : 75-99 mg/dL (0.85-1.12 mmol/L)
High : Greater than 100 mg/dL (1.13 mmol/L)
For ages 10-19 years
Acceptable : Less than 90 mg/dL (1.02 mmol/L)
Borderline high : 90-129 mg/dL (1.02-1.46 mmol/L)
High : Greater than 130 mg/dL (1.47 mmol/L)
For young adults older than 19
Acceptable : Less than 115 mg/dL (1.30 mmol/L)
Borderline high : 115-149 mg/dL (1.30-1.68 mmol/L)
High : Greater than 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L)
Limitation
If you are diabetic and your blood sugar (glucose) is out of control, triglycerides may be very high. Triglycerides change dramatically in response to meals, increasing as much as 5 to 10 times higher than fasting levels just a few hours after eating. Even fasting levels vary considerably day to day. Therefore, modest changes in fasting triglycerides measured on different days are not considered to be abnormal. Certain drugs such as corticosteroids, protease inhibitors for HIV, beta blockers, and estrogens can increase blood triglyceride levels.