Hello! I hope someone can help with this. It's something I've asked about before but I didn't really understand the answer and it's bugged me ever since! I don't know if it's brain fog or what, but can someone please help me understand lab ranges :)Ok so my issue is that some organisations and people in the know state that a level of something tested should be a certain test result for optimal. E.g. a ferritin level of 90-100 or a particular TSH level. But they don't give a reference range. So this leads me to think that that test result optimal level is standard no matter what the lab reference range is.
However, repeatedly I see reference ranges being used as though they influence the test result somehow? As though the test result depends on the reference range. As though the test result would be Different if tested with a different reference range? How can that be?
Surely if say your TSH test result is 5.5 with a reference range of say 0.8 to 10, your test result for TSH will also be 5.5 with a reference range of 2 to 5? How does the reference range change the actual test result? Or am I totally missing the point.
Thank you so much for any enlightenment I feel a wally for asking this!