Second pass at: Fasting versus non-fasting and which tests care

I disagree with the reply above, and I think the disagreement is substantive rather than terminological.

The distinction being drawn does not survive when you look at the published data for this specific question. I would be glad to be shown wrong on this, because the version I am arguing against is more convenient.

Coming back to post #4, because the follow-up matters more than the original answer.

Fasting state: some lab tests require fasting; others do not. Lipids on a fasting draw differ from lipids on a fed draw. Always note whether the test was fasting when comparing results.

Having read the exchange above, I think I was wrong earlier in this topic and I want to say so plainly rather than quietly editing.

The correction was fair and I had been repeating something I had not checked carefully enough.

I read post #11 twice before replying, because I had assumed the opposite.

Reference intervals: constructed to contain the central 95% of a reference population, which means one in twenty healthy people falls outside one by definition. Add biological variation and analytical imprecision and the base rate of a meaningless flag is substantial.

Coming back to post #22, because the follow-up matters more than the original answer.

Liver enzymes: elevation does not specify cause. ALT and AST can rise from many things. Bilirubin helps narrow down the cause. Multiple markers together are more informative than one alone.