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Short stature is an inflammatory disadvantage among middle-aged Japanese men

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Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine Aims and scope

Abstract

Objectives

A positive association between white blood cell count and carotid atherosclerosis has been reported. Our previous study also found an inverse association between height and carotid atherosclerosis in overweight but not non-overweight men. However, no studies have reported on the association between high white blood cell (WBC) count and height accounting for body mass index (BMI) status.

Methods

We conducted a hospital-based general population cross-sectional study of 3016 Japanese men aged 30–59 years undergoing general health check-ups between April 2013 and March 2014. High WBC count was defined as the highest tertiles of WBC count among total subjects.

Results

Independent of classical cardiovascular risk factors, height was found to be inversely associated with high WBC count, especially for subjects with a BMI ≥ 23 kg/m2. The classical cardiovascular risk factors adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) of high WBC count for an increment of one standard deviation (SD) in height (5.7 cm) were 0.91 (0.83–0.99) for total subjects, 1.00 (0.86–1.15) for subjects with a BMI < 23 kg/m2 and 0.86 (0.77–0.96) for subjects with a BMI ≥ 23 kg/m2.

Conclusion

Independent of classical cardiovascular risk factors, height was found to be inversely associated with high WBC count, especially for those with a BMI ≥ 23 kg/m2. Compared to high stature, short stature appears to convey an inflammatory disadvantage among Japanese men, especially those with a BMI ≥ 23 kg/m2.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Grants-in-Aids for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 15K07243).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Nagasaki, Japan

    Yuji Shimizu, Mako Nagayoshi, Koichiro Kadota & Takahiro Maeda

  2. Osaka Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Osaka, Japan

    Yuji Shimizu

  3. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Inoue Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan

    Hiroyuki Yoshimine & Kensuke Takahashi

  4. Shunkaikai, Inoue Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan

    Kiyohiro Izumino & Kenichiro Inoue

  5. Department of Island and Community Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Nagasaki, Japan

    Takahiro Maeda

Authors
  1. Yuji Shimizu
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  2. Hiroyuki Yoshimine
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  3. Mako Nagayoshi
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  4. Koichiro Kadota
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  5. Kensuke Takahashi
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  6. Kiyohiro Izumino
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  7. Kenichiro Inoue
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  8. Takahiro Maeda
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuji Shimizu.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Human and animal rights and informed consents

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments for comparable ethical standards. The Ethics Committee for Human Use of Nagasaki University obtained ethical approval.

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Shimizu, Y., Yoshimine, H., Nagayoshi, M. et al. Short stature is an inflammatory disadvantage among middle-aged Japanese men. Environ Health Prev Med 21, 361–367 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-016-0538-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-016-0538-y

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