Relationship between leukocyte count and angiographical characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis

To explore the relationship between differential leucocyte count and coronary atherosclerosis.

The study population consisted of 507 consecutive patients (376 male and 131 female) who underwent coronary angiography for suspected or known coronary atherosclerosis. The patients' smoking and drinking habits were investigated, and anthropometric measurements, serum measurements, and hematological measurements were conducted for every patient. The severity of coronary atherosclerosis was defined by using Gensini's score system. One-way ANOVA, Spearman's correlation analysis, and multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis were employed to explore the relationship between differential leucocyte count and coronary atherosclerosis.

One-way ANOVA indicated that the diastolic blood pressure, glucose, urea, creatinine, leukocyte count, neutrophil count, monocyte count, hemoglobin, and platelet count differed among the groups according to Gensini's score, the tertile values of which were used as cutoff points. Spearman's correlation analysis suggested that Gensini's score was significantly correlated with age, diastolic blood pressure, glucose, urea, creatinine, leukocyte count, neutrophil count, monocyte count, hemoglobin, and erythrocyte count, respectively. Multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis show that neutrophil count (beta=0.247, P=0.000), age (beta=0.141, P=0.001), glucose (beta=0.173, P=0.000), creatinine (beta=0.088, P=0.063), hemoglobin (beta=-0.168, P=0.013) and sex (men were coded as 1 and women were coded as 2; beta=-0.121, P=0.012) were significantly independently associated with the Gensini's score.

The independent association of neutrophil count with the angiographical characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis, as estimated by Gensini's score, strongly suggests that granulocytosis may play a role in the development of coronary atherosclerosis.