Effect of family history of type 2 diabetes on white blood cell count in adult women.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of a first-degree family history of type 2 diabetes on white blood cell (WBC) count, a risk factor for atherosclerotic vascular disease, in glucose-tolerant adult women.


METHODS
WBC count was measured in 174 normal weight, overweight, and obese female offspring of type 2 diabetic patients (FH(+)) and 174 age- and BMI-matched female controls with no family history of type 2 diabetes (FH(-)). Other measurements included fat mass (FM), measured by body impedance analysis; central fat accumulation, evaluated by waist circumference; insulin resistance, estimated by homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA(IR)); systolic and diastolic blood pressure; and fasting concentrations of glucose, insulin, and lipids.


RESULTS
WBC count, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and fasting levels of glucose, insulin, and triglycerides were significantly higher in FH(+) than in FH(-) subjects. In FH(+) individuals, WBC count was positively associated with BMI, FM, waist circumference, HOMA(IR), and triglyceride and insulin concentrations, and negatively correlated with age and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. In FH(-) subjects, WBC count was directly associated with BMI, FM, waist circumference, and triglyceride and insulin concentrations, and inversely correlated with age and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. After multivariate analyses, WBC count maintained a significant association with age, systolic blood pressure, and HOMA(IR) in FH(+) subjects and with age, BMI, FM, and triglycerides in FH(-) individuals.


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates that WBC count is increased in adult women with genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes, and its main correlates are insulin resistance in FH(+) and adiposity in FH(-) individuals.
Pannacciulli
Nicola
N
Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Giorgino
Francesco
F
Martina
Raffaele A
RA
Resta
Onofrio
O
Giorgino
Riccardo
R
De Pergola
Giovanni
G
D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001823:Body Composition; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol