A comparative study of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in bipolar mania and schizophrenia

Abstract

Objectives The role of immunological disturbance in bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia has been highlighted by some studies. There are few studies available that compared the inflammatory markers between schizophrenia and BD, but only one study demonstrated the difference in terms of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and Platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) between them. So this study was conducted to compare the NLR and PLR values among schizophrenia, bipolar mania, and healthy controls in order to find out a potential biomarker for these disorders. Material and Methods Eighty consecutive patients suffering from bipolar mania, 80 suffering from schizophrenia, and 80 healthy controls were recruited in the psychiatric center situated at a tertiary care hospital. Blood samples of all groups were transferred to the laboratory for complete blood count analysis. Thereafter, all the groups were compared by applying proper statistics. Results Significant higher level of neutrophil count and NLR value was seen in both bipolar mania and schizophrenia groups compared to healthy controls. There was no difference observed between schizophrenia and the bipolar mania group regarding NLR, PLR, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets values. Conclusion NLR has appeared as a potential marker in our study, and it reflects a state of low-grade inflammation in both schizophrenia and bipolar mania. BD and schizophrenia have been considered as part of one continuum, which is also supported by the findings of our study. These markers can help in the prognosis and treatment of at least a subsection of patients and also are inexpensive and easy to assess.