Relationship of red blood cell distribution width and white blood cell count with coronary heart disease

Objective To observe the relationship of the red blood cell distribution width and white blood cell count with coronary heart disease and coronary artery lesions. Methods Totally 590 patients undergoing coronary angiography were selected and divided into two groups based on the results of coronary angiography: coronary heart disease group (n=383) and control group (n=207). Based on the number of coronary lesions, patients in coronary heart disease were divided into different subgroup. The Gensini scores of coronary lesions were assessed. The differences in red blood cell distribution and white blood cell count were compared among different groups, and the correlations of coronary lesions with red blood cell distribution and white blood cell count were analyzed. Results The red blood cell distribution and white blood cell count were higher in coronary heart disease group than in control group 〔(13.06±0.57)% vs. (12.63±0.49)%, (6.33±1.56) 109/L vs. (5.86±1.29) 109/L, t=9.771 and 3.728, both P=0.000〕. The red blood cell distribution and white blood cell count were increased along with the increasing number of coronary lesions (F=51.454 and 7.544, both P=0.000), and positively correlated with the Gensini score (r=0.414 and 0.111, P=0.000 and 0.030). The red blood cell distribution was positively correlated with white blood cell count (r=0.108, P=0.009). The receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve for red blood cell distribution predicting coronary heart disease showed that the threshold value of red blood cell distribution was 12.75% and the area under the ROC curve was 0.723 (95%Cl: 0.680-0.765) with a sensitivity of 67.6% and specificity of 65.2% for the diagnosis of coronary heart disease. Conclusions Red blood cell distribution and white blood cell count are significantly increased in patients with coronary heart disease and are independently correlated with the severity of coronary lesions. Red blood cell distribution and white blood cell count are independent predictiors for coronary artery disease. Key words: Coronary disease; Erythrocyte aggregation; Leukocytes