['Increments in red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Ht) levels are reportedly associated with higher insulin resistance (IR). Obesity may cause IR, but underlying factors remain incompletely defined, and interactions between obesity, hematological parameters and IR are incompletely understood. We therefore determined whether: 1) BMI and obesity per se are independently associated with higher RBC, hemoglobin and hematocrit; 2) hematological parameters independently predict insulin resistance in obese individuals.', 'We investigated the associations between BMI, hematological parameters and insulin resistance as reflected by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) in a general population cohort from the North-East Italy MoMa epidemiological study (M/F\u200a=\u200a865/971, age\u200a=\u200a49 ± 1).', 'In all subjects, age-, sex- and smoking-adjusted hematological parameters were positively associated with BMI in linear regression (P<0.05), but not after adjustment for HOMA or waist circumference (WC) and potential metabolic confounders. No associations were found between hematological parameters and BMI in lean, overweight or obese subgroups. Associations between hematological parameters and HOMA were conversely independent of BMI in all subjects and in lean and overweight subgroups (P<0.01), but not in obese subjects alone.'] Is the association between hematological parameters and insulin resistance modified by body mass index - results from the North-East Italy MoMa population study?