Track white blood cell levels and influencing factors
Keywords:
white blood cells, smoking, age, immune system, plateletsAbstract
White blood cells are one of the basic biomarkers that reflect the efficiency of the immune system in the human body, as their rise or fall is linked to physiological or pathological changes resulting from infection, inflammation, or chronic diseases. This study, titled "Tracking White Blood Cell Rates and Influencing Factors," by researcher Suad Muhammad Ibrahim Karour, analyzed the factors that influence white blood cell rates in individuals, through a field study conducted at Al-Zawiya Teaching Hospital and Bir Bin Muammar Hospital during the period from January to May 2025. The study relied on the descriptive analytical approach using complete blood analysis (CBC) for a sample of 126 male and female patients of different age and gender groups, including smokers and non-smokers, healthy people and those with chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer.
The results showed that age is one of the most influential factors on white blood cell levels, as values gradually decreased with age. The age group between 5 and 15 years was the highest on average at 8,800 cells/μl, while the group from 36 to 50 years recorded the lowest level at an average of 6,800 cells/μl, which expresses the phenomenon of immune aging that leads to a decline in the effectiveness of the immune system. The study also showed that gender differences were not statistically significant, although females recorded a slightly higher mean (7,500 cells/μL) compared to males (7,000 cells/μL), due to natural hormonal effects that give females greater immune activity without being a clear statistical effect.
Regarding smoking, the results revealed clear differences between smokers and non-smokers, with the average white blood cell count among smokers reaching 8,000 cells/μL compared to 7,300 among non-smokers. This indicates that smoking causes a chronic inflammatory condition that stimulates the bone marrow to produce additional blood cells, which is consistent with local and international studies that have confirmed the effect of passive smoking on the immune system. The study also noted a slight increase in mean platelets in smokers (280,000/μL versus 260,000 for non-smokers), which reinforces the hypothesis of increased susceptibility to clotting and smoking-related vascular disorders.
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