Hematological Inflammatory Markers Are Associated with Parkinson’s Disease Severity

Abstract

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with increasing prevalence in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hematological biomarkers, reflecting systemic inflammation, may predict disease severity. Objective: This study evaluates their prognostic potential in PD patients from Southwest Nigeria. Methods: A hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted, involving 70 PD patients stratified into severe (stages 3–5, n=10) and non-severe (stages 1–2, n=60) groups using the Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) scale, and 70 age- and sex-matched controls. Hematological parameters (white blood cell, red cell, platelet indices, and ratios) were analyzed using t-tests, binary logistic regression, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Severe PD was observed in 14% of patients, with 76% being male. Compared to controls, PD patients had lower red blood cell counts (P=0.045), haemoglobin (P=0.014), and higher red cell distribution width-standard deviation (RDW-SD, P<0.001). Independent predictors of severity included age (P=0.010), gender (P=0.003), red blood cell count (P=0.002), haemoglobin (P=0.003), haematocrit (P=0.007), RDW-SD (P=0.001), and plateletcrit (PCT, P<0.001). ROC analysis showed excellent predictive accuracy for RDW-SD (AUC=0.959) and PCT (AUC=1.000). Conclusion: RDW-SD and PCT are robust biomarkers for PD severity, highlighting the role of systemic inflammation. These findings support their integration into PD management and warrant further longitudinal studies.