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- Lab unit converter
Lab unit converter
Turn a lab result from US units into European ones and back: mg/dL to mmol/L, ng/mL to nmol/L and the other pairs labs print. Pick a test, type a number.
mmol/L = mg/dL ÷ 18.016 · molar mass 180.16 g/mol
Glucose: formula and common values →This converter changes units only. It doesn’t tell you whether a number is in or out of any range: that depends on the range printed by your own lab, and on your doctor. Soma does not diagnose and is not medical advice.
Tests and factors
Most factors follow from the substance’s molar mass: the same table Soma uses to put results from different labs on one chart. Multiply by the factor to go in that direction.
| Test | Units | US → SI | SI → US | Molar mass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glucose | mg/dL ⇄ mmol/L | × 0.055506 | × 18.016 | 180.16 g/mol |
| HbA1c | % ⇄ mmol/mol | (% − 2.15) × 10.929 | ÷ 10.929 + 2.15 | equation |
| Cholesterol (total, LDL, HDL, non-HDL) | mg/dL ⇄ mmol/L | × 0.025863 | × 38.665 | 386.65 g/mol |
| Triglycerides | mg/dL ⇄ mmol/L | × 0.011291 | × 88.57 | 885.7 g/mol |
| Creatinine | mg/dL ⇄ µmol/L | × 88.402 | × 0.011312 | 113.12 g/mol |
| Urea | mg/dL ⇄ mmol/L | × 0.1665 | × 6.006 | 60.06 g/mol |
| Urea nitrogen (BUN) | mg/dL ⇄ mmol/L | × 0.35696 | × 2.8014 | 28.014 g/mol |
| Uric acid | mg/dL ⇄ µmol/L | × 59.485 | × 0.016811 | 168.11 g/mol |
| Bilirubin, total | mg/dL ⇄ µmol/L | × 17.104 | × 0.058466 | 584.66 g/mol |
| Calcium | mg/dL ⇄ mmol/L | × 0.24951 | × 4.0078 | 40.078 g/mol |
| Magnesium | mg/dL ⇄ mmol/L | × 0.41144 | × 2.4305 | 24.305 g/mol |
| Phosphate (as phosphorus) | mg/dL ⇄ mmol/L | × 0.32285 | × 3.0974 | 30.974 g/mol |
| Iron | µg/dL ⇄ µmol/L | × 0.17907 | × 5.5845 | 55.845 g/mol |
| Ferritin | ng/mL ⇄ µg/L | × 1 | × 1 | not needed |
| Transferrin | mg/dL ⇄ g/L | × 0.01 | × 100 | not needed |
| Vitamin D, 25-OH | ng/mL ⇄ nmol/L | × 2.496 | × 0.40064 | 400.64 g/mol |
| Vitamin B12 | pg/mL ⇄ pmol/L | × 0.73781 | × 1.3554 | 1355.37 g/mol |
| Folate | ng/mL ⇄ nmol/L | × 2.2655 | × 0.4414 | 441.4 g/mol |
| Free T4 | ng/dL ⇄ pmol/L | × 12.872 | × 0.077687 | 776.87 g/mol |
| Free T3 | pg/mL ⇄ pmol/L | × 1.5362 | × 0.65097 | 650.97 g/mol |
| Testosterone | ng/dL ⇄ nmol/L | × 0.034672 | × 28.842 | 288.42 g/mol |
| Estradiol | pg/mL ⇄ pmol/L | × 3.6713 | × 0.27238 | 272.38 g/mol |
| Cortisol | µg/dL ⇄ nmol/L | × 27.589 | × 0.036246 | 362.46 g/mol |
| Progesterone | ng/mL ⇄ nmol/L | × 3.1801 | × 0.31446 | 314.46 g/mol |
| Prolactin | ng/mL ⇄ mIU/L | × 21.2 | × 0.04717 | WHO standard 84/500 |
| MCHC | g/dL ⇄ g/L | × 10 | × 0.1 | not needed |
| Hemoglobin (Hb) | g/dL ⇄ g/L | × 10 | × 0.1 | not needed |
| Albumin | g/dL ⇄ g/L | × 10 | × 0.1 | not needed |
| CRP (C-reactive protein) | mg/dL ⇄ mg/L | × 10 | × 0.1 | not needed |
| DHEA-S (DHEA sulfate) | µg/dL ⇄ µmol/L | × 0.027137 | × 36.85 | 368.5 g/mol |
| Insulin | µIU/mL ⇄ pmol/L | × 6 | × 0.16667 | human insulin, 1 µIU/mL = 6 pmol/L |
| ALT (alanine aminotransferase) | U/L ⇄ µkat/L | ÷ 60 | × 60 | katal: 1 µkat = 60 U |
| AST (aspartate aminotransferase) | U/L ⇄ µkat/L | ÷ 60 | × 60 | katal: 1 µkat = 60 U |
The molar masses are the ones the Soma app converts with; each links to its compound on PubChem (U.S. National Library of Medicine). HbA1c uses the IFCC–NGSP master equation instead of a molar mass. Urea nitrogen counts the two nitrogen atoms of urea; phosphate is measured as phosphorus. Prolactin and insulin have no molar mass in these units: each uses the factor of the international standard its tests are calibrated to. ALT and AST count enzyme activity: 1 µkat/L is 60 U/L by definition. Mention of a source doesn’t mean it endorses Soma.
By unit pair
The same units mean a different factor for each test. These pages list the tests that use a pair.
Why units differ between the US and Europe
A concentration can be counted in two ways. US labs mostly use conventional units: how much the substance weighs in a volume of blood, such as milligrams per decilitre (mg/dL). Most labs in Europe use SI units: how many molecules there are, counted in moles per litre (mmol/L).
The number changes, the amount in your blood doesn’t. To go from one to the other you need the weight of one mole of that substance, its molar mass, which is why every test has its own factor. Some tests, like ferritin in ng/mL and µg/L, are the same number either way.
Some European labs still print mg/dL for a few tests, so two reports from the same country can disagree too.
Questions
Why do US and European labs report different units?
US labs mostly use conventional units, a mass per volume such as mg/dL. Most European labs use SI units, an amount of substance per litre such as mmol/L. Both describe the same concentration; only the way of counting differs.
How is mg/dL converted to mmol/L?
Divide by the substance’s molar mass and multiply by 10, because a decilitre is a tenth of a litre. For glucose, with a molar mass of 180.16 g/mol, that means dividing mg/dL by 18.016.
Are ng/mL and µg/L the same?
Yes. A nanogram per millilitre is exactly a microgram per litre, so the number doesn’t change. Ferritin is often printed one way in the US and the other way in Europe.
About the tests
What each test measures, the units it comes in and how labs take it: all lab tests.
Soma converts straight from the PDF
Share a lab report to Soma, and it reads every row on your phone and converts the units for you, so a Quest result in mg/dL and a Synlab result in mmol/L sit on one chart, each against its own lab’s range. No account, nothing uploaded.