Investigating the relationship between haematological parameters and metabolic syndrome: A population-based study

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a global public health concern. Chronic inflammation plays a role in MetS; haematological inflammatory parameters can be used as MetS predicting factors.

Hereditary and environmental factors play an important role in the development of MetS. This study aimed to determine the relationship between haematological parameters and MetS in the adult population of southeastern Iran, Kerman.

This cross-sectional study was a sub-analysis of 1033 subjects who participated in the second phase of the Kerman Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factor Study (KERCADRS). Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) definition. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to investigate the relationship between haematological parameters with age and components of metabolic syndrome. The role of WBC, neutrophil, lymphocyte and monocyte in predicting metabolic syndrome was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

White blood cell (WBC) and its subcomponent cells count, red cell distribution width (RDW), monocyte to HDL ratio (MHR) and Neutrophil to HDL ratio (NHR) had a significant positive correlation with the severity of MetS. The cut-off value of WBC was 6.1 (×10³ /μL), the sensitivity was 70%, the specificity was 52.9% for females, the cut-off value of WBC was 6.3 (×10³ /μL), the sensitivity was 68.2% and the specificity was 46.7%, for males.

WBC and its subcomponent count, RDW, MHR and NHR parameters are valuable biomarkers for further risk appraisal of MetS in adults. These markers are helpful in early diagnoses of individuals with MetS.