Non-HDL Cholesterol
Non HDL Cholesterol
- Sample
- Blood
- Usual units
- mg/dL
- Fasting
- Usually done fasting. Follow the fasting instructions your lab or doctor gives you.
Also known as Non HDL Cholesterol · Non-HDL · Non HDL-C
What this test measures
Non-HDL cholesterol is calculated by subtracting HDL cholesterol from total cholesterol, leaving the cholesterol carried in every other measured lipoprotein particle — LDL and VLDL together. A lab reports it as a single combined figure for those particles, alongside the individual LDL and HDL numbers. It is usually reported in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).
Reading your report
There isn’t one standard range for this test — each lab prints its own. Use the range shown next to your result.
Non-HDL Cholesterol unit converter
Convert Non-HDL Cholesterol units
Labs print this test in mg/dL or mmol/L depending on where the sample was run.
Related guides
- Guide
Why the same blood test has different "normal" ranges at different labs
Reference intervals are built from each lab's own population and equipment, which is why two labs can print different ranges for the same sample.
- Guide
Reference interval, cutoff, and the "optimal" numbers online: three different things
The range beside your result, the target a website quotes, and the threshold that defines a condition are built in different ways and answer different questions.
- Guide
Why the same lab printed a different reference range for you this year
Ranges are not fixed constants. The lab can change method, revise its reference group, or apply a range that depends on your age — none of which is an error.
- Guide
What a "calculated" result means, and which of your numbers are one
Several values on a routine report were never measured — they are arithmetic on other rows. Which ones, how to spot them, and why it matters when they change.