Correlation of peripheral blood eosinophil counts with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: a cross-sectional study

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) are a group of diseases that can lead to serious lethal and disabling consequences, in which inflammation plays a key role. Although the role of eosinophils as innate immune cells in cardiovascular disease has been extensively studied, their specific impact is unclear and conflicting findings exist. The aim of this research was to assess the potential association between eosinophil count and ASCVD in US adults and to identify specific populations more strongly associated with ASCVD through subgroup analyses. This study conducted a cross-sectional analysis based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2011 and 2018. Eosinophil counts data were derived from laboratory test results, while the diagnosis of ASCVD was derived from a questionnaire completed by the participants, defined as the respondent having been told that they had at least one of congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, heart attack, or stroke. A multivariate logistic regression model was used in the study to explore the potential association between eosinophil count and ASCVD. A total of 20,363 participants were enrolled in this study, including 2,256 patients with ASCVD. After multivariate logistic regression analyses and adjustment for relevant covariates, a significant positive association was found between eosinophil count and ASCVD. In addition, the subgroup analysis revealed an interesting finding: the association between eosinophil counts and ASCVD was more pronounced among older persons, smokers, and males. A positive correlation between eosinophil counts and ASCVD has been shown in the American adult population. In addition, in certain subpopulations-such as older persons, smokers, and males-the association between eosinophil counts and the occurrence of ASCVD appeared to be stronger.