Relationship Between Hematocrit Level and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Community-Based Population.
BACKGROUND
This study aimed to determine the relationship between hematocrit (HCT) levels and cardiovascular risk factors in a community-based population of middle-aged adults.


METHODS
From April 2011 to February 2012, a total of 1,884 middle-aged adults were selected from a community-based population in China. Blood and urine samples were collected for routine blood and urine tests, and measurement of plasma glucose and lipid levels. Baseline information including traditional cardiovascular risk factors was obtained by standard questionnaire to analyze. We evaluated the distribution of the HCT values for middle-aged adults with or without cardiovascular risk factors. There were 548 males and 1,336 females in this study. The mean age of all subjects was 54.7 ± 6.7 years. There were 1,209 subjects with risk factors and 675 without risk factors.


RESULTS
The HCT levels in subjects with risk factors were higher than those without risk factors (P = 0.005). According to a simplified tool for evaluation of the 10-year risk of ischemic cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Chinese populations, all subjects were divided into four groups: the ultralow-risk group (1,367, 72.6%), low-risk group (232, 12.3%), intermediate-risk group (201, 10.7%), and high-risk/ultrahigh-risk group (84, 4.4%). Compared with HCT levels in the ultralow-risk group, significant differences were found in the low-risk, intermediate-risk, and high-risk/ultrahigh-risk groups (all P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that elevated HCT levels may be positively associated with cardiovascular risk factors. Thus, the combination of HCT values and cardiovascular risk factors may enable early diagnosis of CVDs.
Department of Cardiology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China.
Yuan-Ze
YZ
Jin
Department of Cardiology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China.
Dong-Han
DH
Zheng
Department of Cardiology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China.
Zhi-Ying
ZY
Duan
Department of Cardiology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China.
Ying-Zi
YZ
Lin
Department of Cardiology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China.
Xue-Ying
XY
Zhang
Department of Cardiology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China.
Jing-Ru
JR
Wang
Department of Cardiology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China.
Shuo
S
Han
Department of Cardiology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China.
Guo-Feng
GF
Wang
Department of Cardiology, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, P.R. China.
Yi-Jing
YJ
Zhang
D000328:Adult; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors
cardiovascular diseases; community-based population; hematocrit; middle-aged adults; risk factors