Associations between white blood cells count and obesity in apparently healthy young adults

Abstract

Purpose The elevated white blood cells (WBCs) count has been reported to be a predictor of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome. This study aims to determine the associations between WBCs count and obesity in apparently healthy young adults. Design/methodology/approach In this cross-sectional study, the authors evaluated the body mass index (BMI) in 392 apparently healthy young adults of both sexes. The WBCs count was measured using standard counter techniques. The inclusion criteria were the agreement to participate in the study, between 18 and 25 years of age, lack of self-reported diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, kidney and infectious diseases. Findings According to the BMI classification, underweight and overweight or obesity were observed in 14.58 and 11.48 per cent of young adults, respectively. The mean WBC was 6.5 ± 1.5 (×10³ cells/µL). Higher values of WBCs were found in women than in men (p = 0.02). The young adults with higher BMI had a higher WBCs count. There was a positive correlation between WBCs count and weight and BMI (r = 0.19 and r = 0.22, p < 0.001, respectively). Research limitations/implications This research was a cross-sectional study. Future studies are suggested using longitudinal studies to examine more relationships between obesity and WBCs count in apparently healthy young adults. Practical implications The results of this study provide evidence for weight management in this age group to reduce diseases associated with increased WBCs count. Originality/value The WBCs count was related to increasing levels of BMI per cent 2 C even in the normal range.

Exploring the Link between Inflammatory Biomarkers and Adipometrics in Healthy Young Adults Aged 20–35 Years

“…In accordance with our results, a study involving a cohort of young healthy women reported a significantly positive relationship between WBC and body fat (%), WC, and CRP, but not with IL-6 [52]. Additionally, other studies reported the same differences and correlations between WBC and BMI in apparently healthy young adults and even in adolescents [53,54]. Furthermore, an elevated WBC within the normal range can predict the incidence of and serve as an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and MS among young obese individuals [55][56][57][58].…”

Associations of gene expression in blood with BMI and weight changes among women in the Norwegian Women and Cancer postgenome cohort

“…We observed an association between current BMI and naive B cells, memory B cells, naive CD4 T cells, and memory‐activated CD4 T cells, possibly because BMI and body weight were positively correlated with WBC counts in apparently healthy young adults (higher in women) [39]. As skewed WBC proportions due to differences in BMI could have influenced our BMI analyses, we included these estimated cell proportions in our fully adjusted models [40].…”