title: Association between Red Blood Cell Distribution Width and Coronary Artery Calcification in Patients Undergoing 64-Multidetector Computed Tomography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been found to be associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to determine whether the RDW measures are associated with the coronary artery calcification score (CACS) in patients who did not present with obvious coronary heart disease (CHD).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 527 consecutive patients with a low to intermediate risk for CHD but without obvious disease were enrolled in this study. The study subjects underwent coronary computerized tomography angiography and CACS was calculated. The patients were divided into two groups based on CACS: Group I (CACS≤100) and Group II (CACS>100). The two groups were compared in terms of classic CHD risk factors and haematological parameters, particularly the RDW.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group I patients were younger than Group II patients. The Framingham risk score (FRS) in patients of Group II was significantly higher than that in patients of Group I. Group II patients had significantly elevated levels of haemoglobin, RDW, neutrophil count, and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio compared with Group I patients. CACS was correlated with age, RDW, and ejection fraction. In the multivariate analysis, age, RDW, and FRS were independent predictors of CACS. Using the receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis, a RDW value of 13.05% was identified as the best cut-off for predicting the severity of CACS (>100) (area under the curve=0.706).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that the RDW is an independent predictor of the CACS, suggesting that it might be a useful marker for predicting CAD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Turgut Ozal University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozgul Malcok
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Gürel
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Turgut Ozal University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muhammed Bora
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Demircelik
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Nephrology, School of Medicine, Turgut Ozal University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mukadder Ayse
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bilgic
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Nephrology, School of Medicine, Turgut Ozal University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hakki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ankara Occupational Diseases Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Omer Caglar
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Turgut Ozal University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muzaffer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cakmak
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Turgut Ozal University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Beyhan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eryonucu
keywords: Coronary artery calcification score; Coronary computerized tomography angiography; Red blood cell distribution width