Association between Red Blood Cell Distribution Width and Diabetic Retinopathy: A 5-Year Retrospective Case-Control Study
Yingbo Ma, Shengjie Li, Aiping Zhang, Yi Ma, Yani Wan, Jianping Han, Wenjun Cao, Gezhi Xu
Abstract
Purpose. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been regarded as an emerging biomarker of the general population and cardiovascular disease. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between RDW and diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods. This case-control study included 167 patients with DR, 131 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), and 170 age- and sex-matched healthy controls from April 2014 to May 2019. Demographic data, laboratory parameters, and ocular examinations were collected. Results. RDW values of the DR group were significantly higher than those of the healthy control ( <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"> <a:mi>p</a:mi> <a:mo><</a:mo> <a:mn>0.001</a:mn> </a:math> ) and DM group ( <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"> <c:mi>p</c:mi> <c:mo>=</c:mo> <c:mn>0.002</c:mn> </c:math> ). A similar trend was observed when RDW was compared among the 3 groups with respect to age and gender. Logistic regression analysis has shown the OR of RDW was 3.791 (2.33–6.168; <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"> <e:mi>p</e:mi> <e:mo><</e:mo> <e:mn>0.001</e:mn> </e:math> ) against the control group and was 1.348 (0.997–1.823; <g:math xmlns:g="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"> <g:mi>p</g:mi> <g:mo>=</g:mo> <g:mn>0.047</g:mn> </g:math> ) against the DM group. Conclusion. RDW values were significantly elevated in DR patients, and an elevated RDW was associated with an increased incidence of DR in patients with DM.