Association of alcohol consumption with white blood cell count: a study of Japanese male office workers.

Abstract

To investigate the association of alcohol consumption with white blood cell (WBC) count. Cross-sectional study. A work site in Japan. A total of 5218 Japanese male office workers aged 23-59 years who participated in annual health examinations. Subjects were classified as nondrinkers, or current drinkers who averaged <12, 12-22, 23-34, 35-45, 46-68 or > or = 69 g day(-1) of ethanol. The association between alcohol consumption and WBC count was examined by smoking status. After controlling for age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and fasting plasma glucose, WBC count showed a negative dose-response relation with alcohol consumption in each smoking status. The WBC count increment per category of alcohol intake (x10(9) cells L(-1)) was -0.07 [95% confidence interval (CI), -0.11 to -0.04] for never smokers, -0.11 (95% CI, -0.15 to -0.06) for ex-smokers, and -0.04 (-0.08 to -0.00) for current smokers. For current smokers, additional adjustment for cigarettes smoked per day heightened the magnitude of these associations [the respective WBC count increment (x10(9) cells L(-1)), -0.07 (95% CI, -0.11 to -0.03)]. The risk for high WBC count (fifth quintile) also showed a negative linear trend related to alcohol intake in each smoking status. The WBC count was inversely associated with alcohol consumption in both nonsmokers and smokers. In view of the firm association of WBC count with the increased risk of coronary heart disease, alcohol consumption seems to have a favourable impact on the link between WBC count and the risk of cardiovascular disease.