Vitros 4600 5600

We measured complete blood count which included platelet count, CRP, and ESR. CRP was measured using Vitros 4600/5600 (Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Raritan, NJ, USA). Measurements of platelet count were reported in 10⁹/L. The laboratory reference range defined <400 × 10⁹/L as low/normal and ≥400 × 10⁹/L as elevated. Measurements of CRP were reported in mg/L. The laboratory reference range defined <10 mg/L as normal and ≥10 mg/L as elevated. ESR was measured using the Sed Rate Screener 20/II (Greiner Bio-One GmbH, Kremsmünster, Austria). Measurements of ESR were reported in 1-h mm. The laboratory reference range defined normal as 2 to 20 mm in women and 2 to 15 mm in men. However, it is well-described that ESR increases with advanced age. Therefore, we also used an age- and gender-corrected normal ESR range, which was defined as: ≤age/2 for men and ≤(age + 10)/2 for women [12 (link)]. Platelet count was measured using a Sysmex XN-9000 (Sysmex Corporation, Kobe, Japan). Measurements of platelet count were in number of platelets per L. According to laboratory reference ranges, we defined <400 × 109/L as low/normal and ≥400 × 109/L as elevated. Definitions and ranges are summarized in Table 1.

Fasting blood plasma samples were drawn during the health examination, which were analyzed for lipids (total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides) and glucose, insulin, and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Lipids were measured using colorimetric slide methods with Vitros 4600/5600 Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (OCD), and non-HDL cholesterol was calculated by using the equation: Total cholesterol − HDL-cholesterol. Glucose was assessed by the hexokinase/glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase assay (Roche Diagnostics, former Boehringer Mannheim, Germany), insulin was assessed by the flouroimmunoassay technique, AutoDelfia (Perkin Elmer-Wallac, Finland), and HbA1c was assessed by the HPLC method (TOSOH, Minato, Japan). The homeostasis model of insulin resistance, HOMA-IR, was calculated using the formula: ((fasting plasma insulin [pmol/L]* fasting plasma glucose [pmol/L]/22.5) × 0.144) [29 (link)]. Based on the concept that blood glucose and insulin concentrations are related by the feedback of glucose on beta-cells to increase insulin secretion, this model is used as a surrogate measure of insulin sensitivity [29 (link)].