Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (36)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gillum, R. F.
Right arrow Articles by Makuc, D. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gillum, R. F.
Right arrow Articles by Makuc, D. M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 139, No. 9: 894-902
Copyright © 1994 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

research-article

White Blood Cell Count and Stroke Incidence and Death

The NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study

Richard F. Gillum, Deborah D. Ingram and Diane M. Makuc

From the Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics Hyattsville, MD

Reprint requests to Dr. Richard F. Gillum, Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6525 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782

A 1982 report (J Chronic Dis 1982;35:703–1 4) that a relatively high white blood cell (WBC) count predicted increased incidence of cerebral thrombosis could not establish whether this association was independent of smoking. Therefore, the authors examined data from the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) Epidemiologic Follow-up Study, conducted in 1971–1987, to assess WBC count as a risk factor for stroke in a sample of the US population. White men with a WBC count of >8,100 cells/mm3 had a 39% increase in age-adjusted stroke incidence compared with those with a WBC count of <6,600 cells/mm3 However, controlling for cigarette smoking reduced the association and rendered it statistically nonsignificant (relative risk = 1.26, 95% confidence interval 0.93–1.70). No significant associations of WBC count with stroke incidence were seen in white women or in blacks. In white men, elevated WBC count may be a mediator of cardiovascular effects of smoking, an indicator of smoking exposure, or both. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to elucidate mechanisms for the effect of smoking and WBC count on stroke incidence and death.

blacks; cerebral embolism and thrombosis; cerebral hemorrhage; cerebrovascular disorder; leukocyte count; men; smoking; women


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 BloodHome page
A. Tefferi, N. Gangat, and A. Wolanskyj
The interaction between leukocytosis and other risk factors for thrombosis in essential thrombocythemia
Blood, May 1, 2007; 109(9): 4105 - 4105.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am J EpidemiolHome page
S. H. Jee, J. Y. Park, H.-S. Kim, T. Y. Lee, and J. M. Samet
White Blood Cell Count and Risk for All-Cause, Cardiovascular, and Cancer Mortality in a Cohort of Koreans
Am. J. Epidemiol., December 1, 2005; 162(11): 1062 - 1069.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 NeurologyHome page
M.S.V. Elkind, R. R. Sciacca, B. Boden-Albala, T. Rundek, M. C. Paik, and R. L. Sacco
Relative elevation in baseline leukocyte count predicts first cerebral infarction
Neurology, June 28, 2005; 64(12): 2121 - 2125.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Intern MedHome page
K. L. Margolis, J. E. Manson, P. Greenland, R. J. Rodabough, P. F. Bray, M. Safford, R. H. Grimm Jr, B. V. Howard, A. R. Assaf, R. Prentice, et al.
Leukocyte Count as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Events and Mortality in Postmenopausal Women: The Women's Health Initiative Observational Study
Arch Intern Med, March 14, 2005; 165(5): 500 - 508.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 StrokeHome page
A. J. Grau, A. W. Boddy, D. A. Dukovic, F. Buggle, C. Lichy, T. Brandt, W. Hacke, and for the CAPRIE Investigators
Leukocyte Count as an Independent Predictor of Recurrent Ischemic Events
Stroke, May 1, 2004; 35(5): 1147 - 1152.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 StrokeHome page
P. J. Lindsberg and A. J. Grau
Inflammation and Infections as Risk Factors for Ischemic Stroke
Stroke, October 1, 2003; 34(10): 2518 - 2532.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CirculationHome page
A. R. Folsom, W. D. Rosamond, E. Shahar, L. S. Cooper, N. Aleksic, F. J. Nieto, M. L. Rasmussen, and K. K. Wu
Prospective Study of Markers of Hemostatic Function With Risk of Ischemic Stroke
Circulation, August 17, 1999; 100(7): 736 - 742.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 NEJMHome page
A. M. Joseph, S. M. Norman, L. H. Ferry, A. V. Prochazka, E. C. Westman, B. G. Steele, S. E. Sherman, M. Cleveland, D. O. Antonuccio, N. Hartman, et al.
The Safety of Transdermal Nicotine as an Aid to Smoking Cessation in Patients with Cardiac Disease
N. Engl. J. Med., December 12, 1996; 335(24): 1792 - 1798.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.