Relationships between Hematometabolic Index and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Middle-aged Men

We have recently proposed hematometabolic index (HMI), defined as the product of blood hemoglobin concentration and leukocyte count after modification, as a new discriminator of cardiovascular risk. However, the relationships between HMI and the traditional cardiovascular risk factors remain to be determined.

The subjects were 10917 middle-aged men who had received annual health checkup examinations. HMI was calculated as the product of hemoglobin (g/dl)-minus-13 and leukocyte count (/μl)-minus-3000. Relationships between HMI and traditional cardiovascular risk factors were investigated.

HMI tended to be lower with an increase of age and was significantly higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. HMI was significantly lower in drinkers than in nondrinkers and was significantly lower in subjects with a habit of regular exercise than in subjects without such a habit. In analysis of variance and logistic regression analysis using quartile groups of HMI, HMI was significantly associated with BMI, waist-to-height ratio, blood pressure, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and hemoglobin A_1c. Adjusted odds ratios of the fourth vs. first quartiles of HMI were 3.44 (3.00~3.93) for high BMI, 3.53 (3.11~4.01) for high waist-to-height ratio, 1.54 (1.33~1.79) for hypertension, 2.56 (2.22~2.96) for high triglycerides, 1.68 (1.35~2.09) for low HDL cholesterol, 2.50 (2.15~2.91) for high LDL cholesterol, 2.15 (1.65~2.79) for diabetes, 3.89 (3.35~4.52) for high cardiometabolic index, and 3.98 (3.27~4.85) for metabolic syndrome.

HMI was associated with traditional cardiovascular risk factors including smoking, alcohol drinking, regular exercise, adiposity, blood pressure, blood lipids, and glycemic status. HMI declined with an increase of age. Therefore, HMI is a discriminator of cardiovascular risk that is influenced by age.