[The Rheological Properties of Blood Depending on Age and Sex]

The rheological properties of blood (viscosity, concentration of red blood cells, erythrocyte sedimantation rate, prothrombin index, and fibrinogen and blood lipid concentration) were studied in apparently healthy subjects of both sexes within the age range from 1 to 75 years. We observed an increase in blood viscosity from infancy to adulthood, followed by a decrease in older age in males. A progressive increase in viscosity is observed in females with aging. We determined three age periods during which the viscosity values remain constant: 1) from the period of early infancy to the second childhood (3.6 ± 0.07 mPa s regardless of sex); 2) from adolescence to the second period of adulthood (5.1 ± 0.06 in men; 4.3 ± 0.05 mPa s in women); 3) elderly and senile age (4.7 ± 0.13 in men; 4.4 ± 0.09 mPa s in women). Sex-related differences in the absolute value of blood viscosity (p < 0.001) were discovered in the period of adulthood. Moreover, we observed sex-related differences in the values of determination coefficients of interrelation between viscosity and the level of red blood cells (R(M)2 = 0.41, p < 0.001; R(F)2 = 0.35, p < 0.001), and viscosity and cholesterol level (R(M)2 = 0.47, p < 0.001; R(F)2 = 0.68, p < 0.001) among men and women. The factor analysis showed that blood viscosity correlates with the concentration of red blood cells by 28%; with the level of fibrinogen, by 23%; with the cholesterol concentration, by 20%.