Associations of spleen volume with markers of blood count and lipid profile in a large population-based study

Background: The aim of our study was to investigate associations of spleen volume with blood count markers and lipid profile in the general population. Materials & methods: Cross-sectional data from 1,106 individuals aged 30-90 years from the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP-START-2) were analyzed. Blood count markers included red blood cell (RBC) counts, hemoglobin, platelet count, and white blood cell (WBC) counts. Lipid profile included total-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) as well as triglycerides. Linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, body height, and weight were used to associate standardized spleen volume with blood counts and lipid profile markers. Results: Spleen volume was positively associated with RBC (beta = 0.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.03 to 0.08) and hemoglobin (beta = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.09) but inversely with platelet count (beta = -16.3; 95% CI = -20.5 to -12.1) and WBC (beta = -0.25; 95% CI = -0.37 to -0.14). Furthermore, spleen volume showed inverse associations with total cholesterol (beta = -0.17; 95% CI = -0.24 to -0.09), HDL-C (beta = -0.08; 95% CI = -0.10 to -0.05), and LDL-C (beta = -0.12; 95% CI = -0.17 to -0.06). There was no significant association of spleen volume with triglycerides. Conclusion: Our study showed that the spleen volume is associated with markers of the blood count and lipid profile in the general population.