How do I convert ApoB from g/L to mg/dL?
Multiply by 100. An ApoB of 0.9 g/L is 90 mg/dL, 1.2 g/L is 120 mg/dL, and 0.65 g/L is 65. To go the other way, divide by 100. The 2026 US guideline and US lab reports use mg/dL, and every tool on this site takes either unit.
What we’d do
Convert once, write the mg/dL number next to the g/L one on your report, and compare that with the goals: under 90, 70 or 60 mg/dL by your risk. Watch the decimals. A 0.9 that looks tiny is the same as a 90 that looks big.
Why it’s 100
A gram is 1,000 milligrams, and a liter is 10 deciliters. That makes 1 g/L the same as 1,000 mg in 10 dL, which is 100 mg/dL. Nothing about ApoB changes between the two, only where the decimal point sits.
It’s like dollars and cents. $0.90 and 90 cents are the same money, and nobody thinks one is cheaper.
The numbers in both units
| g/L | mg/dL | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 0.55 | 55 | The guideline’s goal for heart disease with severe high cholesterol, once LDL goals are met |
| 0.60 | 60 | The goal at very high risk, about the 9th percentile of untreated US adults |
| 0.70 | 70 | The goal at high risk, about the 20th percentile |
| 0.90 | 90 | The goal at borderline or intermediate risk, and the middle of untreated adults |
| 1.00 | 100 | About the 64th percentile |
| 1.20 | 120 | On the guideline’s list of things that raise risk, about the 86th percentile |
| 1.40 | 140 | Severe high cholesterol in the guideline |
Goals from the National Lipid Association’s 2024 table, matched to the 2026 guideline’s LDL goals. Percentiles from its table of 12,696 untreated US adults.
Where people trip up
Research papers mix the units too. A 2019 feeding trial reported its ApoB results in g/L, so the gap between 0.70 and 0.63 looks like nothing until you see it’s 7 mg/dL, the size of the saturated fat effect it found. A 2023 review of fiber reported the effect as 44.99 mg/L, which is milligrams per liter, so it’s 4.5 mg/dL.
The tools here guess the unit from the size of the number. Anything under 5 is taken as g/L, and you can switch it. ApoA1 converts the same way.
Lp(a) is different. It’s reported either as a mass in mg/dL or as a particle count in nmol/L, and the guideline says results from different assays are hard to compare, so don’t multiply those by anything. cholesterol.guide covers Lp(a).
5 sources
- Soffer DE, Marston NA, Maki KC and others, Role of apolipoprotein B in the clinical management of cardiovascular risk in adults: an Expert Clinical Consensus from the National Lipid Association, Journal of Clinical Lipidology, 2024pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Blumenthal RS, Morris PB, Gaudino M and others, 2026 ACC/AHA guideline on the management of dyslipidemia, JACC, 2026doi.org
- The same guideline, full text, Circulation, 2026api.iscpcardio.org
- Bergeron N and others, red meat, white meat and plant protein on high and low saturated fat diets, a feeding trial in 113 adults, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Ghavami A and others, Soluble fiber supplementation and serum lipid profile: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, Advances in Nutrition, 2023pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
