Assessment of neutrophil and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio as inflammatory markers in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM), metabolic disease, and its prevalence are increasing in India. DM causes micro- and macrovascular complications. Inflammation is one of the contributing factor in the pathophysiology of DM. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate neutrophil and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in T2DM patients. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out in Biochemistry Department, Lt. B.R.K.M Government Medical College, Chhattisgarh, India. In this study, 150 type 2 DM patients were considered as cases and 150 normal subjects were considered as controls. Baseline data was collected from subjects. All subjects underwent physical and clinical examination. Fasting and post prandial venous blood samples were collected. FBS, PPBS, renal profile (urea, creatinine and uric acid) were estimated in serum sample. EDTA samples were used for complete blood count (CBC). Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and PLR ratio were calculated from CBC values. HbA1c was estimated using whole blood sample. Blood pressure and BMI were recorded. Results: In this study, mean age of 61.2±4.0 years, systolic blood pressure 136.2±14.4 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure 100.1±12.5 mmHg, BMI 28.1±2.6 (kg/m2), FBS 180.7±22.3 mg/dL, PPBS 289.3±33.2 mg/dL, HbA1c 8.1±0.7%, serum urea 39.1±8.3 mg/dL, creatinine 1.1±0.2 mg/dL, uric acid 7.1±2.0 mg/dL, lymphocytes 18.3±3.0%, NLR 8.1±3.1, and PLR 20.3±7.1 were significantly increased in cases than controls. Conclusion: Elevated ratios of NLR and PLR may serve as markers of inflammation in T2DM. These are inexpensive and helpful to assess the inflammatory status in T2DM.