Counts of Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, and Monocytes, Cause-specific Mortality and Coronary Heart Disease: The NHANES-I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study

To examine the association of elevated counts of white blood cell types with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and death. Data were examined from the NHANES-I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Relative risks for death at ages 25 to 74 comparing the upper and lower tertiles of neutrophil count were: all causes 1.29 (95% CL, 1.14, 1.47), and cardiovascular causes 1.39 (95% CL, 1.15, 1.67) after adjusting for baseline risk factors. The increased risk of CHD and death from all causes and cardiovascular diseases appeared to be only partially due to effects of smoking. No association was seen for lymphocytes or monocytes.