Feasibility of self-administered dried blood spot collection for cardiometabolic profile analysis in a population-based sample of young adults
Livingstone et al.
The finding, in our words
While 72 per cent of participants returned self-collected dried blood spot kits, only 46 per cent provided samples adequate for a full cardiometabolic profile, with insufficient blood volume cited as the primary difficulty.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
The study found that although participants preferred patient-centric microsampling devices for home use, the agreement with venous plasma for measuring CRP and cytokines was inconsistent, indicating that further validation is required before these methods replace standard venipuncture.
In a 20-person proof-of-concept pilot among veterans with HIV, remote self-collection of dried blood spots for phosphatidylethanol monitoring was feasible and acceptable, with high return and analysis rates and positive feedback; a small first step toward decentralised alcohol biomarker monitoring rather than proof of it.
Self-collected dried blood spots from 40 healthy participants arrived intact and yielded good-quality DNA, with most immune and epigenetic biomarkers remaining stable for up to six weeks at room temperature. The study confirms that minimally invasive dried blood and plasma spot sampling is feasible for scalable, longitudinal biomolecular surveillance in occupational health settings.
Older adults achieved 98% adherence when self-collecting dried blood spots at home for inflammatory markers, with 97% of samples yielding valid results. Test-retest reliability was good (ICCs 0.70–0.76) and correlation with venous blood was strong (r=0.60–0.99), demonstrating that remote capillary sampling is a feasible and valid method for decentralised assessment of inflammation in older adults.
Self collected dried blood spots gave equivalent results to venous blood for lipids, HbA1c and C reactive protein, enabling similar classification of cardiovascular risk; self collection had lower response than nurse collection but similar demographic participation.