Relation of Serum Cholinesterase to Nutritional Status of Adolescents

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Abstract
In 119 children no useful relation was found between serum cholinesterase levels and hemoglobin, serum carotene, degree of underweight, physical signs indicative of malnutrition, or general appearance from a nutritional standpoint. The lower the body weight in relation to the standard weight (from height-weight tables), the higher was the serum cholinesterase level, which is the reverse of the relationship previously reported. On the other hand, the higher the serum carotene level, the higher was the serum cholinesterase. Since the range of cholinesterase levels encompassed by the regression line was very small in both cases, and the range of cholinesterase levels in normal children was as great as that in malnourished children, the application of this enzyme level to nutrition studies is of dubious value among populations at nutritional levels similar to those investigated in this study.