Associations of blood rheology and interleukin-6 with cardiovascular risk factors and prevalent cardiovascular disease

Haemorheological variables (whole-blood, plasma and relative blood viscosit y haematocrit, red cell aggregation. white cell count and fibrinogen) were measured in 753 men and 821 women aged 25-74 years, and related to cardiova scular risk factors and prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Men had hig her levels than women of blood viscosity. haematocrit, corrected viscosity and relative viscosity. Post-menopausal women had higher levels than pre-me nopausal women of blood viscosity haematocrit, corrected blood viscosity, p lasma viscosity and fibrinogen: each of these differences was completely or partly abolished by use of hormone replacement therapy. Serum total choles terol, triglycerides, diastolic blood pressure. body mass index and smoking markers showed positive associations with most rheological variables, wher eas HDL-cholesterol, plasma vitamin C and social class showed inverse assoc iations, Rheological variables were associated with prevalent CVD after age -adjustment, However, after multiple risk. factor adjustment only plasma vi scosity and red cell aggregation showed significant (P < 0.04) associations in both men and women (comparing top to bottom quarters). Plasma interleuk in-6 (measured in a 25% subsample of 196 men and 221 women) correlated sign ificantly with age, fibrinogen, white cell count, plasma and blued viscosit y, current smoking, and (in men) with low serum vitamin C levels: but not w ith other major risk factors or with prevalent cardiovascular disease.