White Blood Cells, Neutrophils, and Reactive Oxygen Metabolites among Asymptomatic Subjects

Objectives: chronic inflammation and oxidative stress are associatedwith health and the disease status. the objective of the present studywas to investigate the association among white blood cell (wbc) counts,neutrophil counts as a wbc subpopulation, and diacron reactive oxygenmetabolites (d-roms) levels in an asymptomatic population.methods: the clinical data, including general cardiovascular risk variablesand high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-crp), were collected from 100female subjects (mean age, 62 years) in outpatient clinics. the correlationof the d-roms with hs-crp, wbc, and neutrophil counts was examined.results: the mean/median levels were wbc counts 5.9 × 109/l,neutrophil counts 3.6 × 109/l, hs-crp 0.06 mg/dl, and d-roms 359curr u. a simple correlation analysis showed a significant positivecorrelation of the d-roms with the wbc counts, neutrophil counts,or hs-crp levels. the correlation between d-roms and neutrophilcounts (b = 0.22, p < 0.05), as well as that between d-roms and hs-crp (b = 0.28, p < 0.01), remained significant and independent in amultiple linear regression analysis adjusted for other variables. a multiplelinear regression analysis showed that wbc counts had only a positivecorrelation tendency to the d-roms.conclusions: neutrophils may be slightly but more involved inthe oxidative stress status, as assessed by d-roms, in comparison tothe overall wbc. further studies are needed to clarify the biologicmechanism(s) of the observed relationship.