Red cell distribution width high

Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) could be a risk factor for developing various chronic diseases, and seems to be a prognostic marker in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer. Our aim was to explore the association between RDW and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a general population. RDW was measured in 27,063 participants (aged 45–73 years) from the population-based Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort. After a follow-up of 19.8 ± 5.5 years, Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to study the relationship between RDW and all-cause and cause-specific mortality, with adjustment for confounding factors. A total of 9388 individuals (4715 men and 4673 women) died during the follow up. High RDW was significantly associated with all-cause mortality (HR, 4 th vs. 1 st quartile: 1.34, 95%CI: 1.24–1.45), cancer mortality (HR: 1.27, 95%CI: 1.12–1.44), CVD mortality (HR: 1.39, 95%CI: 1.21–1.59), and respiratory disease mortality (HR: 1.47, 95%CI: 1.06–2.03). The C-statistic increased significantly from 0.732 to 0.737 when adding RDW to a model adjusted for age and sex. There was a significant interaction between RDW and BMI with respect to all-cause mortality. We concluded that RDW is associated with mortality and propose that high RDW is a significant, but non-specific marker of mortality risk in the general population. Baseline characteristics Participants with high RDW were more likely to be current and occasional smokers and high alcohol consumers,...

Red Blood Cell Distribution Width The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is the variation in values about the MCV and is elevated in iron deficiency anemia. From: Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences, 2014 Related terms: • Mean Corpuscular Volume • Hypochromic Anemia • Platelet • Erythrocyte • Patient • Edetic Acid • Ferritin • Reticulocyte • Red blood cell count should be low • Red blood cell distribution width should be high • Prominent anisopoikilocytosis in severe cases ○ Markedly hypochromic (bicycle tire) cells ○ Elliptocytes ○ Target cells ○ Nonspecific poikilocytes • Serum iron studies should distinguish from thalassemia • Can occur concurrently with thalassemia Sideroblastic Anemia • Acquired form much more common than congenital form • Specific etiologies for acquired form ○ Drugs ○ Alcohol ○ Lead toxicity ○ Malignancies, including myelodysplastic syndrome • Bone marrow aspirate smear reveals numerous ring sideroblasts • Blood often shows dimorphic red blood cell population • Target cells do not usually predominate Heterozygous/Homozygous Hemoglobin E • Clinically resembles β-thalassemia major • Most common severe thalassemia of Southeast Asians • Extensive extramedullary hematopoiesis ○ Mass effect can result in spinal cord compression and neurologic symptoms • Can diagnose with hemoglobin electrophoresis ○ HbE > 40% ○ Remainder (30-60%) is HbF ○ Absence of HbA Hemoglobin S/β⁺-Thalassemia RDW is a measure of the degree of variation of size of red cells—t...

What the Test Results Mean The word “width” in the RDW test doesn’t mean the size of individual A low RDW means your red blood cells are all about the same size. A high RDW means you have both very small and very large red blood cells. You may also have a “normal” RDW. A normal RDW range is 12.2%–16.1% for women and 11.8%–14.5% for men. But that doesn’t always mean you’re in perfect health. Even though your red blood cells are all about the same size, they could all be smaller or larger than they should be. If your doctor reviews your RDW because of a health concern and the results are normal, the doctor will likely look at the results of other parts of your CBC for more information. A high or normal RDW can be a sign of: • Different types of • • • • • • Low nutrients, such as folate or B12 A high RDW can tip doctors off about a vitamin or nutrient deficiency earlier than other parts of the CBC test can. RDW is also a key test for telling the difference between types of What Happens When You Take an RDW Blood Test? You don’t usually need to do anything special to get ready for an RDW test. If your doctor needs specific results from the rest of your blood test, you may need to stop drinking or eating for a certain amount of time beforehand. You’ll visit a clinic where a health care professional using a small needle will draw blood from a vein in your arm. Your blood will go into a test tube. Once the test tube is full, the clinician will take the needle out of your arm and ...