INFLAMMATORY bowel disease (IBD) evaluation could be strengthened by incorporating red blood cell distribution width (RDW), after a systematic review and meta-analysis found the routinely available blood parameter was consistently associated with disease presence, activity, and severity across IBD populations. RDW Increased with Disease ActivityThe analysis found that RDW was significantly higher in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis than in healthy controls. Results were as follows: Crohn’s disease (mean difference: 2.2; p<0.001); ulcerative colitis (mean difference: 1.36; p<0.001). In Crohn’s disease, the mean difference was 1.29 (p<0.001), while ulcerative colitis showed a mean difference of 1.11% (p<0.001). In addition, active Crohn’s disease demonstrated significantly higher RDW than active ulcerative colitis (mean difference: 0.59; p<0.005).