Correlation between body mass index and erythrocyte sedimentation rates in healthy participants

Abstract

Objective: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a cheap, fast and readily available test and its still being used for many medical conditions in order to help diagnosis and evaluation of diseases. In this study, association of ESR, cholesterol levels and monocyte to high density lipoprotein ratio (MHR) with body mass index were inspected in healthy population. Material and Method: This study is an observational, retrospective study. It has been conducted in a university hospital with people admitting to internal medicine outpatient clinics between January 2020 and December 2020. Demographic characteristics, body mass indexes and laboratory parameters of 689 patients were evaluated. Participants were divided into three groups according to body mass indexes; Group 1 (normal weight), Group 2 (overweight), Group 3 (obese). Data obtained from three groups were compared. Results: There were significant associations between body mass index and height, weight, ESR, glucose, monocyte counts, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, Non-HDL cholesterol and MHR among groups. ESR was significantly higher in women compared to men. There were significant correlations between body mass index and ESR (r=0.346, p=0.001), glucose (r=0.239, p=0.001) and monocyte count (r=0.096, p=0.013). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, ESR is a parameter associated with BMI and it may reflect the magnitude of inflammation taking place in obesity. ESR was used for more than a century in evaluation of diseases and it still has a place in different medical disorders.