PROF. E. B. EZENWANNE

Hematological indices are essential for evaluation of blood composition and overall health.
They are a set of measurements and values obtained from a complete blood count (CBC) test. They include: Red blood cell count, total and differential white blood cell count, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), platelets count etc. This study aims to measure and compare the values of RBCs, Total and Differential WBCs, MCV, MCH,
MCHC and Platelets between young male and female human adults. A Questionnaire was given to collect demographic and a little clinical data from the participants to ensure they met the criteria for participation.
The participants constituted two (2) groups – males and females, with each group having 20 individuals between ages 18-30. Blood samples were collected. The data obtained from the groups were presented as Mean ± S.E.M (Standard Error of Mean), (n=20) in each group and analyzed for statistical significant at (p ≤ 0.05). The statistical software used includes R and WPS sheets. The results for RBC count, MCV, MCH and MCHC were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) in males than in females, while the values of total WBC count, each of the differential WBC count and the platelet count, were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) in females compared to males. In conclusion, the results of this study highlights and buttress that there are significant differences between the selected hematological parameters of males and females. These variations are most likely due to physiological factors like the testosterone on erythropoiesis and the potential differences in body composition and metabolism.

Sedentary behaviour and physical inactivity are among the leading modifiable
risk factors worldwide for cardiopulmonary disease and all-cause mortality
while physically active persons reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes
mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Evidence is accumulating
that sedentary behaviour might be associated with increased cardiopulmonary- specific and overall mortality. Insufficient physical activity predicts premature
cardiopulmonary disease mortality and disease burden. This study is aimed at
investigating the cardiopulmonary function in athletes and sedentary workers
using a range of indices including Blood Pressure (BP), Forced Vital Capacity
(FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume₁ (FEV₁), Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR), Body Mass Index (BMI) and Pulse Rate (PR). 100 apparently normal healthy
adult males were recruited for this study. They were selected into 5 groups with
10 subjects per range (range = 10) of athletes and sedentary workers. The result
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revealed that there were significant differences in the cardiopulmonary
parameters and BMI across all groups. At the end of this study, the
cardiopulmonary parameters showed significant differences in athletes than in
sedentary workers mostly due to their physical condition, hence, sedentary
workers are recommended to alternate their lifestyle to live a healthier life.