Erythrocyte volume and blood pressure in a cross-sectional population-based study

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Abstract
A reduction in mean erythrocyte volume has been reported in some strains of genetically hypertensive rat, and more recently it has been suggested that a similar alteration might be found in human essential hypertension. The relationship between erythrocyte volume and blood pressure was therefore studied in a random sample of an untreated male working population (n = 317; age 45.1 .+-. 6.4 years, mean .+-. s.d.). Neither systolic nor disatolic blood pressures were found to be related to erythrocyte volume (r = 0.022 and r = -0.014, respectively); in fact, erythrocyte volume was not different across quintiles of blood pressure. Smokers (n = 171) had lower blood pressure and a greater erythrocyte volume than non-smokers or ex-smokers (n = 144; 91.6 .+-. 4.7 versus 88.2 .+-. 5.5 fl; P < 0.001), and heavy drinkers (> 110 g ethanol/day) had higher blood pressure and a greater erythrocyte volume compared with the rest of the study population (P < 0.01). However, after adjustment of erythrocyte volume for these two potentially confounding factors, again no statistical association was found with blood pressure. The present study, therefore does not support the hypothesis of a negative association between erythrocyte volume and blood pressure, whereas it confirms that the smoking habit and habitual alcohol intake are strong determinants of erythrocyte volume.

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