Effect of family history of type 2 diabetes on white blood cell count in adult women

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a first-degree family history of type 2 diabetes on white blood cell (WBC) count, a risk factor for atherosclerotic vascular disease, in glucose-tolerant adult women. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: WBC count was measured in 174 normal weight, overweight, and obese female offspring of type 2 diabetic patients (FH(+)) and 174 age- and BMI-matched female controls with no family history of type 2 diabetes (FH(-)). Other measurements included fat mass (FM), measured by body impedance analysis; central fat accumulation, evaluated by waist circumference; insulin resistance, estimated by homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA(IR)); systolic and diastolic blood pressure; and fasting concentrations of glucose, insulin, and lipids. RESULTS: WBC count, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and fasting levels of glucose, insulin, and triglycerides were significantly higher in FH(+) than in FH(-) subjects. In FH(+) individuals, WBC count was positively associated with BMI, FM, waist circumference, HOMA(IR), and triglyceride and insulin concentrations, and negatively correlated with age and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. In FH(-) subjects, WBC count was directly associated with BMI, FM, waist circumference, and triglyceride and insulin concentrations, and inversely correlated with age and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. After multivariate analyses, WBC count maintained a significant association with age, systolic blood pressure, and HOMA(IR) in FH(+) subjects and with age, BMI, FM, and triglycerides in FH(-) individuals. DISCUSSION: This study indicates that WBC count is increased in adult women with genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes, and its main correlates are insulin resistance in FH(+) and adiposity in FH(-) individuals.