ABSTRACT
The relation between hematologic variables and insulin resistance has been reported previously; however, there is still debate about the correlation between hematologic variables and the metabolic syndrome [MetS]. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between MetS and white blood cells [WBC] and red blood cells [RBC]. This cross-sectional study recruited 11974 participants over 19 years old who participated in the Isfahan Healthy Heart Program [IHHP] in Najafabad and Arak, Isfahan. Participants were selected using multi-stage random sampling. A questionnaire about demographic variables, including age, sex, and past medical history, was filled for each participant by a trained nurse, and the participants' blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference, and other anthropometric variables were recorded by physicians using standard methods. After 12 hours fasting, laboratory parameters, including RBC, WBC, hemoglobin [Hb], and hematocrit, [Hct] together with such biochemical variables as glucose, triglyceride [TG], and HDL-cholesterol were measured. MetS was defined according to the ATP-III criteria. The data were entered in SPSS-11 and analyzed using the t-test and correlation analysis. From the 11974 participants, 6132 [51%] were female. Mean age was 35.6 +/- 3.8 years in the females and 35.9 +/- 32 years in the males. In general, 23.1% of the subjects had MetS: 35% in the females and 10.6% in the males [p<0.05]. WBC and RBC were higher in the subjects with Mets. Regarding the correlation between the hematologic variables and the MetS components, the most significant correlations were seen between TG and WBC [r: 0.195, p<0.001] and HDL-C and RBC [r: -0.245, p<0.001]. According to our findings, high counts of RBC and WBC were observed in those with MetS. The predictive use of these parameters needs further longitudinal