Association between muscle sympathetic nerve activity and red blood cell distribution width in adults

Measures obtained from the full blood count have been shown to vary around a set point, are stable over years, and provide an indication of disease risk and mortality. In this study, we examined the association between sympathetic nerve activity and components of the full blood count. We performed a retrospective analysis of data drawn from our clinical database. Subjects were included if available data comprised full blood count and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA). Data were obtained from 160 individuals, comprising healthy volunteers, subjects who were overweight or with clinical obesity, and patients with high blood pressure. MSNA was correlated to the red cell distribution width (RDW, Spearman's rho 0.49 for MSNA b/min and 0.48 for MSNA b/100hb, p < 0.001 for both), but bore no association with any of the other blood variables. Regression analysis indicated that the RDW could be predicted by a combination of MSNA and BMI and to the number of components and diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome, measures of insulin resistance, and markers of inflammation. Our observations may provide insight into the possible mechanisms linking the RDW with mortality.