Health24.Com, May 9, 2007 Men and women with above-normal white blood cell counts could face an increased risk of death at an earlier age, particularly from cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests. People with normal white cell counts may not be out of danger, either, since individuals on the high end of the normal range were also at increased risk of illness and death, the team of Italian and American researchers said. Measuring WBC might prove useful in predicting an individual's health risk But Dr James S. Goodwin, professor of geriatrics and director of the Sealy Centre of Ageing at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, isn't convinced. "The good news is, that as this study shows, a rather substantial decline in WBC counts from around 1960 to 2000," he said. "It goes well with other research showing that there's been a general improvement in health over the last half of the 20th century in the Western world." Goodwin believes that, "from the perspective of the individual patient, this observational study suggests nothing specific that should be done differently. It is interesting from a scientific perspective. But for patients, it is not particularly important and has no clinical relevance." Cushman agreed. "At issue is what the intervention should be if an elevated value is found," she said. "I don't believe that for WBC we know what to do, other than the things we should already be doing, like promoting a heart healthy lifestyle and appropriate screening and prevention for risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, (and) smoking. This advice would not differ depending on whether the WBC was elevated."