White Blood Cell Count in Women: Relation to Inflammatory Biomarkers,
Haematological Profiles, Visceral Adiposity, and Other Cardiovascular
Risk Factors
The role of white blood cell (WBC) count in pathogenesis of diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, and obesityrelated disorders has been reported
earlier. Recent studies revealed that higher WBC contributes to
atherosclerotic progression and impaired fasting glucose. However, it
is unknown whether variations in WBC and haematologic profiles can
occur in healthy obese individuals. The aim of this study is to further
evaluate the influence of obesity on WBC count, inflammatory
biomarkers, and metabolic risk factors in healthy women to establish a
relationship among variables analyzed. The sample of the present study
consisted of 84 healthy women with mean age of 35.56±6.83 years.
They were categorized into two groups based on their body mass index
(BMI): obese group with BMI >30 kg/m2 and non-obese group with BMI
<30 kg/m2. We evaluated the relationship between WBC and platelet
count (PLT) with serum interleukin 6 (IL-6), Creactive protein (CRP),
Angiotensin II (Ang II), body fat percentage (BF %),
waist-circumference (WC), and lipid profile. WBC, PLT, CRP, and IL-6 in
obese subjects were significantly higher than in non-obese subjects
(p< 0.05). The mean WBC count in obese subjects was 6.4±0.3
(×109/L) compared to 4.4±0.3 (×109/L) in non-obese
subjects (p=0.035). WBC correlated with BF% (r=0.31, p=0.004), CRP
(r=0.25, P=0.03), WC (r=0.22, p=0.04), Angiotensin II (r=0.24, p=0.03),
triglyceride (r=0.24, p=0.03), and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP)
levels (r=0.3, p=0.028) but not with IL-6. Platelet count was also
associated with WC and waist-to-hip ratio (p<0.05). Haemoglobin and
haematocrit were in consistent relationship with LDLcholesterol
(p<0.05). In conclusion, obesity was associated with higher WBC
count and inflammatory parameters. There was also a positive
relationship between WBC count and several inflammatory and metabolic
risk factors in healthy women