What is Normal Serum Creatinine Level

What is the normal serum creatinine level? It may vary from person to person due to age, gender, physique and different hospitals may have different criteria.
Normal levels of creatinine vary by age and gender. Normal creatinine levels in males at age 4-20 years are 0.2-1.2 mg/dL, at age 20-69 are 0.7-1.5 mg/dL and above 70 years are 0.7-1.7 mg/dL. The normal level of creatinine in females at age 4-20 years are 0.2-1.2 mg/dL, at age 20-69 years 0.6-1.4 mg/dL and above 70 years are 0.6-1.5 mg/dL.
Creatinine is chiefly filtered out of the blood by the kidneys (glomerular filtration and proximal tubular secretion). There is little or no tubular reabsorption of creatinine. If the filtering of the kidney is deficient, creatinine blood levels rise. Therefore, creatinine levels in blood and urine may be used to calculate the creatinine clearance (CrCl), which reflects the glomerular filtration rate (GFR).
The creatinine levels are determined by muscle mass. Men will have higher levels of creatinine than women. This is due to the fact that men typically have more muscle mass than women. There are other factors that determine the levels of creatinine. These factors include age and weight. Elderly individuals will have lower levels of creatinine than what is considered normal due to the decrease in muscle mass with age. Infant levels are much lower strictly due to size.
There are several reasons why your levels of creatinine may be higher than normal. These reasons include diabetes, high blood pressure, certain medications and kidney disease. When your kidneys are failing, they do not have the capability of removing creatinine. This condition leads to the need for dialysis and possible kidney transplant. High blood pressure and diabetes are a major cause of kidney disease. It is important to keep these conditions under control.
In a recent Japanese study a lower serum creatinine level was found to be associated with an increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes in Japanese men.