The relationship of white cell count, platelet count, and hematocrit to cigarette smoking in adolescents: the Oslo Youth Study.

Abstract

This article reports on the relationship between cigarette smoking, white blood cell count (WBC), platelet count (PC), and hematocrit in a Norwegian adolescent population. Data were obtained on 439 youths, 14 to 16 years old, as part of the Oslo Youth Study, an investigation of risk factors and behaviors for cardiovascular disease and cancer among adolescents. Analyses of covariance, controlling for height, weight, age, sexual maturation, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and hematocrit revealed that both male and female regular smokers (those reporting smoking at least once a week) had significantly higher mean WBCs. Male regular smokers also had significantly higher PCs than nonsmokers, and female regular smokers had higher PCs than young women who smoked less often than once a month. Hematocrit, after adjustment for height, weight, age, sexual maturation, and HDL cholesterol, was significantly lower in male regular smokers, while female regular smokers had higher hematocrit values than nonsmokers or occasional smokers. Results of this study show that WBC and PC were increased in adolescents who started smoking relatively recently. This indicates that the increase in white cell count observed in smokers is unlikely to be due to a longstanding smoking-induced chronic disease condition.Circulation 72, No. 5, 971-974, 1985. STUDIES have shown that for adults, white blood cell count (WBC) is significantly higher in current cigarette smokers than in nonsmokers or former smokers. 13 Furthermore, WBC has been found to be a strong predictor of myocardial infarction4' 5 and to be independently related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer mortality.3 Although these associations do not necessarily indicate causality, one hypothesis that has been put forward is that increased WBC reflects cellular injury of importance in both CVD and cancer. While cardiovascular and cancer mortality end points obviously cannot readily be studied in preadult populations, the relationship between cigarette smoking, WBC, and other related variables can be studied in any age group in which cigarette smoking is prevalent. However, such studies have typically been conducted in adult populations.Most regular adult smokers have been smoking for a

An Epidemiological Study on the Association between the Total Leukocyte and Neutrophil Counts, and Risk Factors of Ischemic Heart Disease by Smoking Status in Japanese Factory Workers.

“…Positive correlation with the dose and duration of cigarette smoking were also noted. Smoking increases the total leukocyte count and activates neutrophil in the peripheral blood even among teenagers or those who have been smoking for only a short period (Tell et al, 1985). Although the acute effects of cigarette smoking may be mediated by norepinephrine, there may also be a chronic effect due to inflammation or bone marrow stimulation (Tell et al, 1985).…”

“…The total leukocyte and neutrophil counts were significantly related to various hematologic characteristics: previous studies reported the associations between platelet count, hemoglobin level, fibrinogen level, hematocrit, and plasma viscosity (Nieto et al, 1992;Tell et al, 1985). These laboratory tests may produce different results if there was a nonspecific stress response to tissue injury (Stuart et al, 1981) but there may be a shared regulatory mechanism.…”

Quitting Smoking May Restore Hematological Characteristics within Five Years

“…Helman and coworkers reported a lower erythrocyte count in male smokers than in never smokers, while no relation was found in women (17). In both genders, in comparison to never smokers, smokers have higher values of mean corpuscular volume, hematocrit, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and platelet count (11,(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Green and coworkers, however, showed a lower platelet count in female smokers than in never smokers (19).…”

Decreased stress resilience in young men significantly increases the risk of subsequent peptic ulcer disease – a prospective study of 233 093 men in Sweden

“…4 Even though our study had no data on smoking, we did adjust for a measure of inflammation (ESR) in adolescence that has been linked with smoking although not always consistently. 25,[32][33][34][35] Cognitive function (and education) is strongly related to behaviours such as smoking, 36, 37 so we adjusted for this.…”