Erythrocyte sedimentation rate in a population sample of women with special reference to its clinical and prognostic significance.

Abstract

ABSTRACT A comprehensive population study of women aged 38–60 was carried out in Göteborg, Sweden in 1968‐69. The same women were re‐studied six years later, in 1974‐75. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was studied on both occasions. A statistically significant rise in ESR with age was noted both cross‐sectionally and longitudinally, which means that the increase was related to age and was not a cohort effect. The mean annual increase in ESR was about 0.6 mm/h, but there was a significant difference between the ages studied, the increment being larger in the upper age groups. Women with high ESR (here defined as ESR ≥30 mm/h) had lower Hb and Hct values than other women. Leucocyte counts were higher in women with ESR ≥30 mm/h than in the others, but differences were statistically significant only in the upper age groups. Serum iron levels were lower in women with high ESR, while TIBC values were similar to those in the other women. Significant differences were found for transferrin saturation (lower in women with high ESR). Cholesterol levels were similar, while triglyceride levels either tended to be or were significantly higher in women with high ESR. About half of the women with ESR ≥30 mm/h had a possible explanation for their increased ESR. In no case did an increased ESR give rise to a new diagnosis of clinical significance, either in 1968‐69 or in 1974‐75. Nor had any diagnoses been missed in women with a high ESR in 1968‐69, according to the re‐examination six years later. All except one woman, in whom the diagnosis of neoplastic disease was made in the interval between the two examinations, had ESR ≥30 mm/h in 1968‐69, and women in whom a neoplastic disease was found later had on average no higher ESR in 1968‐69 than the others. It is concluded that for screening purposes, ESR is of very limited value.