Determinants of blood eosinophil count in adults from a large population-based study

Factors not associated with respiratory disease that influence blood eosinophil (B-Eos) count have not been clearly defined. We aimed to evaluate the influence of non-respiratory diseases on B-Eos count and to identify individual characteristics, including gender and body mass index, associated with B-Eos count in individuals without respiratory disease.Individuals (18-85 years) with complete B-Eos data from the US National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys 2005–2016 were grouped as having respiratory disease (n=7,894) or not having respiratory disease (n=15,010). Among those without respiratory disease, non-respiratory diseases that were independently associated with B-Eos count were obtained by multivariate linear regression. After excluding significant non-respiratory diseases, independent associations between individual characteristics and B-Eos count were analysed in 5,667 healthy controls.Having metabolic syndrome, heart disease and stroke were associated with 12%, 13%, and 15% higher B-Eos count, respectively (p<0.001 for all). In healthy controls, male sex and obesity were associated with higher B-Eos counts (14% and 19% higher, respectively) (p<0.01 both), while age was not a significant determinant (p=0.290). Also, current smokers had 17% higher B-Eos counts than never smokers (p<0.001).Non-respiratory diseases influence B-Eos count in adults without respiratory disease from the general population. Male sex, obesity, and current smoking, but ...
Source: European Respiratory Journal - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Monitoring airway disease Source Type: research