Association of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio with metabolic syndrome and its components in Asian Indians (CURES-143).

BACKGROUND

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is the state of chronic low grade inflammation. This study looks at the relationship of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in subjects with and without MS in Asian Indians.

METHODS

Study subjects (n=754) were recruited from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study. MS was defined using the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATP) III criteria modified for waist according to World Health Organization Asia Pacific guidelines. A complete hemogram was done in all subjects using a five-part hematology analyzer (model SF-3000; Sysmex, Kobe, Japan). The NLR was calculated as the ratio between counts for neutrophils and total lymphocytes in subjects with (n=422) and without (n332) MS and correlated with number of metabolic abnormalities in those with MS.

RESULTS

Subjects with five metabolic abnormalities had the highest NLR, and with decreasing number of metabolic abnormalities, the NLR decreased linearly (p for trend <0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that even after adjusting for age, gender and body mass index, MS was strongly associated with NLR (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Among Asian Indians, NLR is correlated with MS and also with the number of metabolic abnormalities.