Diurnal variability of total calcium during normal sleep and after an acute shift of sleep

Background: Serum total calcium is becoming a widely used test when screening for hyperparathyroidism (HPT) and other causes of hypercalcemia, even if serum calcium is tightly regulated in the body it is unclear whether the reference values are correct for tests taken at different times of the day or for individuals with altered sleep patterns. Thus, the aim was to investigate how timing of testing and sleep affects serum calcium.