Department of Internal Medicine, Family Medicine and the History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Huttlerova 4, 31000 Osijek, Croatia.
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Health, Crkvena 21, 31000 Osijek, Croatia.
Biomolecules. 2021 Apr 2;11(4):528. doi: 10.3390/biom11040528.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women, although traditionally, it has been considered as a male dominated disease. Chronic inflammation plays a crucial role in the development of insulin resistance, diabetes type 2 and CVD. Since studies on women were scarce, in order to improve diagnosis and treatment of CVD, there is a need to improve understanding of the role of inflammation in the development of CVD in women. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an inexpensive and widely available marker of inflammation, and has been studied in cardio-metabolic disorders. There is a paucity of data on sex specific differences in the lifetime course of NLR. Men and women differ to each other in sex hormones and characteristics of immune reaction and the expression of CVD. These factors can determine NLR values and their variations along the life course. In particular, menopause in women is a period associated with profound physiological and hormonal changes, and is coincidental with aging. An emergence of CV risk factors with aging, and age-related changes in the immune system, are factors that are associated with an increase in prevalence of CVD in both sexes. The aim of this review is to comprehend the available evidence on this issue, and to discuss sex specific differences in the lifetime course of NLR in the light of immune and inflammation mechanisms.
心血管疾病（CVD）是女性死亡的主要原因，尽管传统上认为它是一种男性主导的疾病。慢性炎症在胰岛素抵抗、2 型糖尿病和 CVD 的发展中起着至关重要的作用。由于针对女性的研究较少，为了改善 CVD 的诊断和治疗，有必要更好地了解炎症在女性 CVD 发展中的作用。中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值（NLR）是一种廉价且广泛可用的炎症标志物，已在心脏代谢疾病中进行了研究。关于 NLR 在女性一生中的性别特异性差异的数据很少。男性和女性在性激素、免疫反应特征和 CVD 表达方面存在差异。这些因素可以决定 NLR 值及其在整个生命过程中的变化。特别是女性的更年期是一个与深刻的生理和激素变化相关的时期，与衰老同时发生。随着年龄的增长，CV 风险因素的出现以及免疫系统的年龄相关性变化，是与两性 CVD 患病率增加相关的因素。本综述的目的是理解这方面的现有证据，并根据免疫和炎症机制讨论 NLR 在女性一生中的性别特异性差异。
