Elevation of ALP in normal individuals

Alkaline phosphatase may be chronically elevated in normal individuals in the following circumstances:

• following a fatty meal in people with O or B blood groups
  
  
• third trimester of pregnancy
  
  
• possibly as a familial trait
  
  
• fast-growing adolescents
  
  
• elderly - alkalilne phosphatase levels normally increase gradually between the ages of 40 and 65 years, especially in women; the normal alkaline phosphatase level in an otherwise healthy 65-year old woman is more than 50% higher than the level in a healthy 30-year old woman (1)

Benign transient hyperphosphatasia - see linked item.

Reference:

• 1) Wolf PL (1978). Clinical significance of an increased or decreased serum alkaline phosphatase. Arch Pathol Lab, 102, 497-501.