The reference intervals for the haematological parameters in healthy adult population of chennai, southern India.

Background: The haematological parameters are influenced by various factors like age, ethnicity, diet, genetic and gender differences and hence it is important to define the specific reference values with regards to the age, gender and the region. The indices like the Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW), the Mean Platelet Volume (MPV) and the Platelet Distribution Width (PDW) are newer haematological parameters which are calculated by automated haematology analyzers. There is an increasing evidence that these are clinically valuable bio markers. But not many studies have estimated the reference intervals for these parameters in our population.

Aim And Objective: Our primary objective was to identify the gender specific reference intervals for RDW, MPV, PDW and other haematological parameters for the healthy adult population of our region. We also aimed at comparing the study reference intervals with the existing reference ranges.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review of 2443 medical case sheets of the individuals who attended the preventive health check up program in a tertiary care hospital in the year 2011, was done. With 500 subjects who satisfied our study criteria, the haematological reference intervals were established.

Results: Gender specific reference intervals were established for the newer indices as well as for the other haematological parameters. We derived the reference intervals for the newer parameters in our population as: RDW: 12.23%-15.36% in males and 12.3%-15.85% in females. MPV: 7.9 fL-13.7 fL in males and 8 fL -13.28 fL in females PDW: 9 fL -16.56 fL in males and 8 fL -13.28 fL in females.

Conclusion: Our values differed from the existing haematological reference values, thus showing the importance of developing region-specific reference intervals. Our data also showed the importance of establishing gender specific reference intervals.