White blood cell count and the metabolic syndrome in older Chinese: the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between white blood cell count (WBC) and metabolic syndrome (MS) in an older Chinese population.


METHODS
Three thousand and twenty men and 7,256 women aged 50-85 years were recruited and received a medical check-up including measurement of complete blood count, blood pressure, obesity indices, fasting total, LDL-, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose and c-reactive protein (CRP). Information on socioeconomic and lifestyle factors was also collected.


RESULTS
Vascular risk factors including waist circumference, body mass index, triglyceride, total-, LDL-cholesterol, CRP and systolic and diastolic blood pressures were all positively associated with WBC in both men and women (p from 0.0085 to <0.001). The risk of MS increased significantly with higher total WBC, with adjusted odds ratios (95% confident interval) for second and third tertiles of 1.86 (1.43, 2.42), 2.56 (1.98, 3.32) in men and 1.67 (1.46, 1.90), 2.66 (2.34, 3.03) in women, respectively. Neutrophil and lymphocyte were strongly correlated with total WBC and showed similar association with the MS.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a strong relationship between total WBC, neutrophil and lymphocyte and the constellation of MS components and associated vascular risk in this older Chinese population.
Lao
Xiang Qian
XQ
Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
Neil Thomas
G
G
Jiang
Chaoqiang
C
Zhang
Weisheng
W
Adab
Peymane
P
Lam
Tai Hing
TH
Cheng
Kar Keung
KK
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002681:China; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000378:metabolism; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000378:metabolism; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D005947:Glucose