Monocytes are the largest of all white blood cells and play an important role in the defense against germs and in inflammation. What do high levels mean? What factors can decrease them? Learn more here.<\/p>\n
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Monocytosis is a condition in which the number of monocytes circulating in the blood is increased to more than 0.8\u00d7109\/L in adults.<\/p>\n
Causes shown here are commonly associated with this symptom. Work with your doctor or other health care professional for an accurate diagnosis.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Monocytosis most commonly occurs during and after chronic inflammation or infection [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n However,several other conditions can also be associated with monocytosis, such as heart disease, depression, diabetes, and obesity [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n The conditions most commonly associated with high monocyte levels are:<\/p>\n High monocyte levels may also be linked to:<\/p>\n Few symptoms are considered to be caused by monocytosis itself. Instead, according to many researchers, symptoms arise from the diseases associated with monocytosis [R<\/a>]. These symptoms include:<\/p>\n Monocytes and macrophages are involved in the development and worsening of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) that can lead to heart disease and stroke [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Monocytes accumulate in blood vessels and contribute to the development and rupture of atherosclerotic plaques that block blood vessels [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n As atherosclerosis progresses, the number of monocytes in the blood tends to rise [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n A clinical study found no link between diabetes and the number of circulating white blood cells, but monocytes were significantly more numerous in people with complications of diabetes [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n Some researchers believe that monocytes may be responsible for harmful inflammatory complications in diabetes. Studies have shown that monocytes secrete TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-1 in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients; these proinflammatory molecules are thought to promote blood vessel diseases (like atherosclerosis) [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n In a large study of over 4,000 adults in a Swiss hospital, patients with monocytosis experienced more and worse complications than those without. Furthermore, patients with monocytosis had lower survival rates during their hospital stay [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n In a separate study of elderly Korean men and women, monocytosis was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and cancer-related death [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n This connection has not been researched well enough to state for certain that monocytosis can predict mortality rate. However, current research has largely supported the association [R<\/a>, R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\nSymptoms and Causes<\/span><\/h3>\n
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How Are High Monocytes Linked to Health?<\/span><\/h3>\n
1) Atherosclerosis<\/h4>\n
2) Inflammation in Diabetes<\/h4>\n
3) Mortality Rates<\/h4>\n