Association between leukocyte count and sarcopenia in postmenopausal women: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

• We examined the relationship between leukocyte counts and sarcopenia in 2152post-menopausal Korean women who participated in the 2010–2011 Korean National Health Examination and Nutrition Survey.
• Leukocyte counts were positively related to a higher risk of sarcopenia in postmenopausal women.
• Leukocyte counts may be another useful predictor of sarcopenia in postmenopausal women.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between leukocyte counts and sarcopenia according in postmenopausal women.Study designCross-sectional study.Main outcome and measuresWe examined the relationship between leukocyte counts and sarcopenia in 2152 post-menopausal Korean women who participated in the 2010–2011 Korean National Health Examination and Nutrition Survey. Sarcopenia was defined as an appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) divided by weight (%) that was greater than 1 SD below the mean of young adults. The odds ratios (ORs) for sarcopenia were calculated using multiple logistic regression across leukocyte count quartiles (Q1:≤4710, Q2:4720–5600, Q3:5610–6600, and Q4:≥6610 cells/μL) after adjusting for confounding variables.ResultsThe prevalence of sarcopenia gradually increased in accordance with leukocyte quartiles. Compared with the lowest quartile of leukocyte counts, the corresponding OR (95% CI) of the highest quartile of leukocyte counts for sarcopenia was 2.41 (1.12–5.22) after adjusting for age, waist circumference, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, regular exercise, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, and HDL-cholesterol.ConclusionsLeukocyte counts were positively related to a higher risk of sarcopenia in postmenopausal women.