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). Conclusion 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.