The effects of age, smoking, and alcohol on routine laboratory tests

The effects of age, smoking, and alcohol intake on the results of some routine hematology and clinical chemistry tests have been determined for a group of 1,826 healthy male workers. Increasing age was significantly associated with higher hemoglobin, hematocrit, SGOT, BUN, and creatinine levels and with lower total protein concentration, but there was no significant association with leukocyte count, total bilirubin, or alkaline phosphatase. Smoking was significantly associated with higher hemoglobin, hematocrit, leukocyte count, and alkaline phosphatase, and with lower total bilirubin, SGOT, total protein, and BUN, but there was no significant association with creatinine levels. Alcohol consumption was significantly associated with higher hematocrit, bilirubin, and SGOT and with lower BUN and creatinine, but there was no significant association with hemoglobin, leukocyte count, alkaline phosphatase, or total protein. The possible reasons for these effects, and their implications, are discussed.