Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the study population stratified according to quartiles of red blood cell distribution width (RDW).
| Characteristics | RDW (%) | P | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <12.8 | 12.8–13.3 | 13.4–14.1 | >14.1 | ||
| N | 205 | 317 | 213 | 244 | – |
| Male gender, n (%)* | 145 (25.0) | 187 (32.2) | 117 (20.2) | 131 (22.6) | <0.001 |
| Age, years [range] | 48 [37–60] | 56 [42–70] | 66 [50–76] | 72 [51–82] | <0.001 |
| Medical history, n (%)* | |||||
| Hypertension | 67 (13.8) | 139 (28.6) | 122 (25.1) | 158 (32.5) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 17 (14.3) | 27 (22.7) | 29 (24.4) | 46 (38.7) | <0.001 |
| Dyslipidemia | 50 (15.6) | 86 (26.9) | 75 (23.4) | 109 (34.1) | <0.001 |
| Obesity | 15 (10.4) | 45 (31.3) | 39 (27.1) | 45 (31.3) | 0.003 |
| Smoking | 43 (16.7) | 69 (26.7) | 58 (22.5) | 88 (34.1) | <0.001 |
| Family history of MI | 28 (19.2) | 53 (36.3) | 27 (18.5) | 38 (26.0) | 0.577 |
| Previous history of MI | 23 (11.7) | 48 (24.4) | 46 (23.4) | 80 (40.6) | <0.001 |
| CKD | 2 (3.2) | 8 (12.7) | 15 (23.8) | 38 (60.3) | <0.001 |
| Previous history of stroke | 0 (0.0) | 4 (26.7) | 2 (13.3) | 9 (60.0) | <0.010 |
| Clinical findings | |||||
| HEART score [range] | 2 [1–3] | 3 [1–4] | 4 [2–5] | 5 [3–6] | <0.001 |
| CPS [range] | 4 [1–6] | 5 [1–6] | 5 [2–7] | 5 [2–7] | 0.017 |
| Hemoglobin (g/L) [range] | 141 [135–153] | 142 [134–152] | 139 [129–147] | 131 [118–140] | <0.001 |
| Medical treatment, n (%)* | |||||
| Aspirin | 33 (12.0) | 73 (26.4) | 72 (26.1) | 98 (35.5) | <0.001 |
| Double anti-aggregation | 10 (15.2) | 15 (22.7) | 16 (24.2) | 25 (37.9) | <0.001 |
| Warfarin | 1 (2.7) | 5 (13.5) | 8 (21.6) | 23 (62.2) | <0.001 |
| Beta-blockers | 27 (11.6) | 56 (24.0) | 56 (24.0) | 94 (40.3) | <0.001 |
| ACEI/ARB | 46 (14.4) | 97 (30.4) | 73 (22.9) | 103 (32.3) | <0.001 |
| Diuretics | 15 (8.4) | 42 (23.5) | 41 (22.9) | 81 (45.3) | <0.001 |
| Statins | 40 (14.9) | 69 (25.7) | 65 (24.2) | 95 (35.3) | <0.001 |
*, percentage among quartiles. ACEI, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker; CKD, chronic kidney disease; CPS, Chest Pain Score; MI, myocardial infarction. HEART, history, electrocardiogram, age, risk factors and troponin.