Red blood cell distribution width as an easily measurable biomarker of persistent inflammation and T cell dysregulation in antiretrovirally treated HIV-infected adults

Figures & data

Table 1 Clinical and laboratory characteristics

N	158
Age, years	50 (45, 57)
Male	139 (88)
Caucasian	92 (58.2)
History of hypertension	64 (40.5)
History of diabetes mellitus	8 (5.1)
Current cigarette smoker	39 (24.7)
Former cigarette smoker	65 (41.4)
Body mass index (BMI), kg m^−2	25.7 (23.65, 27.88)
Systolic BP, mmHg	121(114, 132)
Diastolic BP, mmHg	75 (69, 81)
RDW, %	13.4 (12.9, 14.1)
Hemoglobin, g L^−1	14.5 (13.7, 15.3)
MCV, fL	96.2 (92.68, 99.2)
Platelet, ×10^9 L^−1	198 (172, 233)
Creatinine, mg dL^−1	1.0 (0.9, 1.1)
HDL cholesterol, mg dL^−1	42 (33, 53)
LDL cholesterol, mg dL^−1	108 (89, 132)
Total Cholesterol, mg dL^−1	178 (155, 207)
Total/HDL ratio	4.14 (3.42, 5.17)
Triglycerides, mg dL^−1	117 (87, 169)
Therapeutic duration on ART, years	12.6 (7.0, 16.2)
HIV RNA <48 copies mL^−1 (undetectable viral load)	135 (84.4)
CD4+ T cell count, cells mm^−3	503 (341, 661)
CD8+ T cell count, cells mm^−3	737 (560, 1033)
CD4/CD8 cell count ratio	0.68 (0.42, 0.98)

All categorical variables are summarized with frequencies and percentages, while continuous variables are displayed as medians = (Q1, Q3).

Table 2 Association between RDW with markers of inflammatory and T cell immune activation by Pearson correlation and multivariable linear regression

	Pearson correlation		Multivariable linear regression^a
	Pearson correlation coefficient (r)	p-value	Beta efficient (β)	p-value
Laboratory parameters and markers of inflammatory^b
CRP*	0.245	.004	0.205	.026
IL-1b	0.130	.127	0.092	.328
IL-6	0.350	<.001	0.253	.002
IL-8	0.418	<.001	0.296	<.001
IL-10*	0.167	.050	0.146	.115
TNF-a	0.315	<.001	0.258	.002
MCP-1	0.220	.009	0.095	.282
SAA*	0.317	<.001	0.271	.003
MPO*	0.185	.030	0.139	.133
D-dimer	0.252	.001	0.161	.035
Fibrinogen	0.246	.002	0.166	.038
sVCAM	0.221	.009	0.199	.028
sICAM	0.468	<.001	0.485	<.001
sE-selectin	0.280	.001	0.244	.005
CD4+ T cell	–0.161	.043	–0.157	.065
CD8+ T cell	0.249	.002	0.276	.001
CD4/CD8 ratio	–0.174	.029	–0.187	.030
Plateletb	–0.110	.172	–0.083	.332
T cell immune activation^c
CD8 + HLA-DR + CD38+	0.206	0.015	0.279	0.002
CD4 + TIGIT+	0.315	0.040	0.238	0.138
CD4 + PD1+	0.337	0.027	0.278	0.083
CD4 + TIM3+	0.06	0.701	0.117	0.504
CD4 + TIGIT + PD1+	0.311	0.042	0.254	0.113
CD4 + TIGIT + TIM3+	0.297	0.053	0.265	0.107
CD4 + TIM3 + PD1+	0.226	0.146	0.257	0.141
CD8 + TIGIT+	0.424	0.005	0.437	0.008
CD8 + PD1+	0.343	0.024	0.308	0.070
CD8 + TIM3+	0.175	0.262	0.361	0.037
CD8 + TIGIT + PD1+	0.372	0.014	0.361	0.026
CD8 + TIGIT + TIM3+	0.383	0.011	0.411	0.010
CD8 + TIM3 + PD1+	0.364	0.016	0.349	0.039

* In log.

^a Adjusted for age, sex, race, cigarette smoking, serum creatinine and hemoglobin level.

^bn = 138.

^cn = 43.