Hematocrit and cardiovascular risk factors among elderly men and women (Dutch Nutrition Surveillance System).

Changes in whole blood viscosity associated with hematocrit could be one of the pathways along which the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors affect these diseases. Therefore, we studied in a nationwide survey comprising 514 apparently healthy Dutch elderly men and women aged 65-79 the possibility of any association between hematocrit and CVD risk factors (tobacco smoking, serum cholesterol, body mass index and blood pressure). Among men, diastolic blood pressure and total serum cholesterol were positively associated with hematocrit in both bivariate and multivariate regression analysis, whereas positive associations of hematocrit with body mass index and smoking were only significant (p < 0.05) in bivariate analysis. Among women, hematocrit was positively associated with body mass index and smoking. Except for smoking, which was associated with the mean corpuscular volume of the erythrocytes, hematocrit was positively correlated with hemoglobin and the number of erythrocytes. It is concluded that hemorrheological aspects should be considered when studying CVD among elderly people.