How do you convert cholesterol from mg/dL to mmol/L?

Divide by the molar mass. For cholesterol (386.654 g/mol), 1 mg/dL = 0.025863 mmol/L.

Why isn't there one factor for mg/dL to mmol/L?

Because mg measures mass and mmol measures amount of substance, the factor depends on the molar mass of what is being measured. Every analyte has its own.

Calculators › Cholesterol

Cholesterol: mg/dL to mmol/L

1 mg/dL = 0.025863 mmol/L

Reference only. These conversions are arithmetic, not medical advice. Reference ranges differ between laboratories, and results should be interpreted by a clinician alongside the lab's own reported units and ranges.

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Conversion table

mg/dL	mmol/L
120 mg/dL	3.1035 mmol/L
150 mg/dL	3.8794 mmol/L
170 mg/dL	4.3967 mmol/L
190 mg/dL	4.914 mmol/L
200 mg/dL	5.1726 mmol/L
220 mg/dL	5.6898 mmol/L
240 mg/dL	6.2071 mmol/L
260 mg/dL	6.7244 mmol/L
300 mg/dL	7.7589 mmol/L

Going the other way, 1 mmol/L = 38.6654 mg/dL.

Why this conversion needs the substance

mg/dL measures mass; mmol/L measures amount of substance. Converting between them needs the molar mass of the thing being measured — for cholesterol that is 386.654 g/mol. That is why a generic converter can't do it, and why every analyte has a different factor.

Jotal works this out from molar mass rather than a stored factor, so write cholesterol 200 mg/dL in mmol/L and it answers 5.1726 mmol/L. Leave the substance out and it deliberately returns nothing rather than guessing.

Other lab values

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