without any prior history, background or symptoms to go with this set of labs, please keep in mind that the following explanations are simply assumptions based on what these patterns could mean from a functional lens for a male adult:

Suboptimal Low WBC:
Ideally, WBC should be between 5-7.5 so there is slight immune suppression. In my mind, I’m wondering what is taxing your immune system or causing a low production of white blood cells.

Pattern of Possible Anemia (macrocytic or microcytic):
Your red blood cells (RBC) for a man is also suboptimal low, along with lower hematocrit (HCT) and hemoglobin (HGB). This pattern could be caused by iron deficiency, B12/B9 deficiency, B6 deficiency, copper deficiency, and even a need for vitamin C. (FYI – I’ve been seeing a lot of low copper levels after the pandemic due to everyone mega dosing with zinc, and depleting their copper levels.)

Also, given that your MCV (mean corpuscular volume) is suboptimal high (>90), this means that the size of your red blood cells are compensating by increasing in size. This can lead to neuropathy and tingling in the extremities where the larger blood cells cannot reach.

A higher RDW (>13) can also point to some form of anemia. Additional testing would be warranted to determine what is at play.

Clinically Low Neutrophils (neutropenia):
Neutrophils are the white blood cells used by the body to combat bacterial infections and are usually first to the scene. They are supposed to be the most numerous and important white cell in the body’s reaction to inflammation.

If it’s clinically low, this could mean the body’s fighting a chronic viral infection. The typical pattern is a decreased WBC (<5.5) since the body is using up its WBCs, increased lymphocyte count (>44), decreased neutrophils (<40) and increased monocytes (>7) during the recovery phase.

Another possibility is pancreatic insufficiency. If the body doesn’t have enough pancreatic enzymes being produced, the body will use white cells to do the job of breaking down food and clearing food residue from the system. This is called leukocytic auto digestion and can cause a decreased white count (<5.5).

There are also many other possibilities like decreased production from the bone marrow, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and different types of anemia and nutrient deficiencies as described above. Chronic intestinal parasites, adrenal dysfunction, hepatitis, multiple food allergies, rheumatoid arthritis are other conditions associated with decreased WBC levels.

Please let me know if any of this resonates with any of your symptoms/health history, and if you have any additional questions.

 yes, these patterns are for an adult male. As I said, these are all possibilities, so leukocytic auto digestion may not apply to your son.

Checking your iron/ferritin, B vitamin levels, copper, and vitamin C status would help you know for sure what is at play in your case specifically.

 I’m planning on doing even better than that! A course on interpretating basic labwork from a functional lens is in the pipeline. I have not yet done so because I’ve been including testing and functional interpretation of those markers in each course released so far in B Better. But I do plan on releasing one specifically for CBC and CMP blood chemistry in the next couple of months.