Effect of sex, age, body weight, and smoking on plasma viscosity.

The influence of age, sex, smoking, and body weight on blood plasma viscosity of a group of 639 healthy subjects was investigated in a randomized study. In order to determine the individual effects on a homogeneous collective of healthy subjects, all participants of this field study had to undergo physical examination, laboratory analysis, doppler sonography, and they were asked for a health history. The presence of disease or a disorder eliminated the participant from the study. Plasma viscosity was measured with the capillary tube plasma viscometer. Quality control according to clinical chemistry guidelines was conducted throughout the study to ensure the accuracy of the values measured being. It could be demonstrated that plasma viscosity is significantly elevated in healthy overweight subjects. However, a relationship between plasma viscosity and age, sex, and cigarette smoke inhalation could not be found.