The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and diabetes increases through the quartiles of white blood cell count in Japanese men and women.
OBJECTIVE
Low-grade systemic inflammation is proposed as a component of metabolic syndrome (MS) and is reported as a predictor of diabetes. We studied the association between white blood cell count (WBC) and MS and diabetes in Japanese men and women.


METHODS
Cross-sectional associations between WBC and metabolic syndrome (MS) defined by revised NCEP criteria for Japanese, Japanese MS (JMS) defined by the Examination Committee for Criteria of Metabolic Syndrome, and diabetes were examined using medical check-up data from 1,880 men and 1,079 women.


RESULTS
The prevalence of MS, JMS, and diabetes was 6.4%, 5.5%, and 4.3%,13.2%, 11.5%, and 5.5%, 15.1%, 13.8%, and 5.1%, and 24.3%, 21.3%, and 8.5%, respectively through the quartiles of WBC in men (p<0.0001, <0.0001, and <0.01, respectively in comparison between the lowest quartile of WBC and the highest quartile of WBC) and 2.2%, 0.4%, and 0.4%, 4.5%, 0.7%, and 1.1%, 9.3%, 1.9%, and 1.5%, and 12.3%, 4.8%, and 3.3%, respectively through the quartiles of WBC in women (p<0.0001, <0.01, and <0.05, respectively in comparison between the lowest quartile of WBC and the highest quartile of WBC).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of MS, JMS, and diabetes increases through the quartiles of WBC in Japanese men and women. Thus, WBC may be useful as a marker of cardiovascular disease risk.
Oda
Eiji
E
Medical Check-up Center, Tachikawa Medical Center, Nagaoka. ijie@venus.sannet.ne.jp
Kawai
Ryu
R
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors