157. Absence of relation between mental well-being and red blood cell distribution width in a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample

Abstract

Research on mechanisms underlying relations of depressive symptoms to cardiovascular disease (CVD) has identified red blood cell distribution width (RDW), an red blood cell volume variation index, as a potential pathophysiological link. We examined whether mental well-being was associated with RDW and if these relations differed as a function of socio-demographic characteristics. Participants were 2,063 socio-economically diverse African Americans and Whites (average age = 47.9, 56.6% female) enrolled in the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Lifespan (HANDLS) study who completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression scale (CES-D) and the SF-12 Mental Component Score (MSC) and provided blood samples. Separate sex, race, and poverty status stratified multiple regressions investigated whether CES-D and MSC (entered separately) were associated with RDW controlling for age, sex, race, poverty status, CVD diagnosis, metabolic conditions, hypertension, smoking status, body mass index, white blood cell count, c-reactive protein, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, and food security. Results indicated having a CVD diagnosis was associated with increased RDW ( p = .02) but neither CES-D nor MSC were associated with RDW in any subgroup. In a diverse community sample we replicated associations between RDW and CVD but failed to find an association between RDW and mental well-being measures. An absence of inflammatory activation for Blacks and whites in poverty in the presence of depression symptomatology may account for these findings.