New Inflammation Indicator for Migraine: Red Blood Cell Distribution

Abstract

Introduction: The role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of migraine is controversial. We aimed to investigate new inflammatory markers such as red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and plateletcrit in patients with migraine. Methods: In this study, 100 patients suffering from migraine and 67 healthy controls with similar demographic characteristics were included in the study. Complete blood count (CBC) including number of neutrophils, lymphocytes and platelets, RDW, plateletcrit, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), fasting blood glucose, serum creatinine, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was compared between these two groups. SPSS was used for statistical analysis. Results: There was positive correlation between RDW and migraine group, CRP, plateletcrit, platelet, and neutrophil counts. The results of ESR, platelet count and RDW in migraine group were higher than control group significantly (p=0.044, p=0.024, and p=0.002, respectively). CRP, NLR, and plateletcrit were higher in migraine group without significance. In multivariate analysis, RDW was found as a significant independent predictor of migraine after adjusting for other risk factors (p=0.048). In a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, an RDW value of 13.25% was identified as an effective cutoff point for migraine (area under curve = 0.620, 95% confidence interval: 0.53-0.71, p=0.009). An RDW value of more than 13.25% yielded a sensitivity of 58% and a specificity of 54%. Discussion and Conclusion: In our study, we found that RDW was higher in patients with migraine than control group, independent of other variables. RDW can be used as an inflammatory marker for migraine with a simple and inexpensive CB examination.