Frequently asked questions

I’ve received a letter with the results of the physical examination of a HELIUS participant What’s expected of me as a GP?

We will send you a letter with the results of the physical examination if a participant has declared that they are registered as a patient in your GP practice. We believe it is important that you are well informed about this data. If the results are abnormal, we advise participants to contact your office themselves.

I’ve received a letter with the results of the physical examination of a HELIUS participant, but this person is not registered at my GP practice?

If you’ve received a letter for a participant that is not registered as a patient in your practice, we kindly ask you to return the letter to us. You can find the return address on the envelope.

Is it possible to receive the results digitally instead of by letter?

Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to send the results digitally. Research results have to be processed anonymously and for that reason we cannot use the digital system that is used to send results for patient care. Because we realize that the results by letter can be inconvenient for GPs, we have considered all of the possibilities for a digital delivery system, but such a system has proved to be too expensive. We thank you for your understanding.

One of my patients participated in HELIUS, but did not receive his or her results. What should I advise the patient to do?

Participants receive the results of the physical examination by letter within two to four weeks. If your patient hasn’t received the results four weeks after the physical examination, we kindly request that you ask the patient to contact the HELIUS secretariat (phone: 020-5663792, e-mail: info@heliusstudie.nl). The secretariat is open from Monday to Friday between 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

What reference values does HELIUS use for the reported results?

The reference values that we follow are reported in the table below. For the laboratory results, we use the guidelines from the LAKC (Laboratorium voor Algemene Klinische Chemie), the laboratory at the AMC. De afkapwaarden voor cholesterol en triglyceriden zijn overgenomen uit de nieuwe NHG-standaard CVRM (tabel 22; 80e percentiel). Waarden van ALAT, ASAT en/of gamma-GT boven 1,5 keer de normaalwaarde worden bij de deelnemers als verhoogd aangeduid, in lijn met de NHG-standaard Virushepatitis en andere leveraandoeningen. For the interpretation of blood pressure and weight, we follow the NHG-standards.

Some reference values are meant for patients with diabetes or patients who have had a cardiovascular event. We use these reference values because we do not know the medical history of the participant. Therefore, in case of increased or decreased values, we advise the participants to contact their GP. Depending on the results of the participant and the medical history of the patient, it can be prudent to take additional tests or to start treatment.

Measurement	Interpretation	Reference values
Blood:
Glucose (fasting)	Increased	> 7,0 mmol/L
HbA1c	Increased	> 42 mmol/mol
Hb	Decreased	< 7,5 mmol/L (women) < 8,5 mmol/L (men)
Thrombocytes	Decreased	< 150 x10⁹/L
	Increased	> 400 x10⁹/L
Triglycerides	Increased	> 2,0 mmol/L
LDL-cholesterol	Increased	> 3,0 mmol/L
HDL-cholesterol	Decreased	< 1,3 mmol/L (women)
		< 1,0 mmol/L (men)
Totaal cholesterol	Increased	> 5,0 mmol/L
Creatinin	Increased	> 90 umol/L (women)
		> 110 umol/L (men)
Alanine aminotransferase (ALAT)	Increased	≥ 60 U/L (women) ≥ 75 U/L (men)
Aspartaat aminotransferase (ASAT)	Increased	≥ 75 U/L
Gamma glutamyltransferase (Gamma-GT)	Increased	≥ 60 U/L
Urine*
Micro-alb/ creat ratio	Increased	> 3,5 mg/mmol (women)
		> 2,5 mg/mmol (men)
Blood pressure:
Systolic blood pressure	Increased	> 140 mmHg
Diastolic blood pressure	Increased	> 90 mmHg
Weight:
Body mass index (BMI)	Underweight	<18,5 kg/ m²
	Overweight	> 25 kg/m² and ≤ 30 kg/m²
	Obesity	> 30 kg/m²