The Low Dose Naltrexone Height/Weight/Gender/Dosage Poll In Spring 2006, the Yahoo LDN board had an ongoing discussion about dosage. Does body size and gender affected the dosage of LDN? Should men take more than women, or less? Should large people take more than small people? In the notorious absence of actual clinical data for LDN, I opened a poll. I asked the members of the Yahoo board to submit their height, weight, gender, and the dosage they were most comfortable with. I asked people who had not yet settled on a dosage to refrain from participating in the poll. Forty-seven people responded to the poll. Keeping in mind that I am not a statistician, here are the results: 1 person (2% of all respondents) takes 2.5mg 1 person (2% of all respondents) takes 4.0mg 3 people (13% of all respondents) take 6.0mg 17 people (36% of all respondents) take 3.0mg 25 people (53% of all respondents) take 4.5mg Gender Differences -- Total Men Responding: 18 8 men (39% of the men) take 3.0mg 10 men (61% of the men) take 4.5mg -- Conclusion – more men take 4.5 than take 3.0. Total Women Responding – 29 1 woman (3% of the women) takes 2.5mg 8 women (30% of the women) take 3.0mg 1 woman (3% of the women) takes 4.0mg 15 women (56% of the women) take 4.5mg 3 women (7% of the women) take 6.0mg -- Conclusion: more women take 4.5 than 3.0. -- We can also conclude that women are more likely to take “odd” dosages of LDN (like 2.5 or 4.0) than men are. Height/Weight/Dosage Correlation....? Each respondent provided their height and weight. For each person, I converted this information to a Body Mass Index number. The thinner you are in proportion to your height, the lower your BMI. To figure out your BMI, you can go here: http://www.consumer.gov/weightloss/bmi.htm (There is a BMI calculator at the bottom of the page.) Our 47 respondents had a BMI range between 16.5 and 47.5. Below is the list of all 47 BMIs. Each individual’s BMI is followed by their dosage. I listed the BMI numbers in ascending order – going from small and thin to tall and large -- to see if I could discern any pattern. 16.5 – 4.5 17.6 – 3.0 18.0 – 3.0 18.5 – 6.0 18.9 – 4.5 19.4 – 4.5 19.5 – 4.5 20.1 – 3.0 20.1 – 4.5 20.6 – 3.0 20.8 – 4.5 21.0 – 4.5 21.3 – 3.0 21.3 – 4.5 22.1 - 3.0 22.2 – 4.5 22.4 – 4.5 22.5 – 3.0 23.4 – 4.5 23.4 – 4.5 23.4 – 3.0 23.9 – 6.0 24.1 -- 6.0 24.4 – 4.5 24.4 – 4.5 24.8 – 4.5 24.8 – 4.5 24.8 – 4.5 24.9 - 4.5 25.1 – 3.0 25.1 – 4.0 25.6 – 4.5 25.7 – 3.0 26.1 – 3.0 27.0 – 3.0 27.1 – 3.0 27.1 – 4.5 27.3 – 4.5 27.9 – 3.0 28.2 – 4.5 28.6 – 4.5 28.6 – 4.5 31.1 – 3.0 33.0 – 3.0 36.6 – 4.5 47.5 – 3.0 Conclusion: If there's a pattern here, I don’t see it. Some patients believe that if you're short and thin, you should take less LDN, and if you are tall and large, you should take more. This list seems to contradict that idea. Note: I’m sure there’s a way to convert this list to a chart, or a graph, but I’m not a statistician, so I don’t know how to do that. If anyone else wants to take a crack at it, feel free. |
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