Evaluation of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio and platelet–lymphocyte ratio as markers of diabetic kidney disease in Bangladeshi patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Background: The roles of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR) as novel surrogate markers of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) are promising. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether NLR and PLR can predict DKD in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Subjects and Methods: This cross‑sectional study was conducted from July 2018 to June 2019, among 312 patients with T2DM recruited from eight tertiary hospitals throughout Bangladesh. Complete blood count (CBC) was performed in fully automated hematology analyzers, and NLR and PLR were calculated. The urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) was measured in a random single-voided urine sample. The diagnosis of DKD was made based on the presence of albuminuria (ACR ≥30 mg/g) and/or reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR <60mL/min/1.73 m2) in the absence of signs or symptoms of other primary causes of kidney damage. Results: Among 312 study subjects, 150 (48.1%) had DKD. The mean age (51.9 ± 11.9 vs. 48.6 ± 9.6 years), fasting plasma glucose (10.3 ± 4.1 vs. 9.2 ± 3.0 mmol/L), 2-h postprandial plasma glucose (14.6 ± 5.6 vs. 12.8 ± 4.5 mmol/L), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (9.2 ± 2.1 vs. 8.4 ± 1.9%), and serum triglyceride (213.6 ± 109.9 vs. 185.5 ± 100.8) were higher (P ≤0.05 in each instance) in subjects with DKD in comparison to those without DKD. DKD group had higher mean absolute neutrophil count (6.0 ± 2.0 vs. 5.4 ± 1.9 ×109/L, P = 0.022), platelet count (310.4 ± 87.3 vs. 287.0 ± 78.7 ×109/L, P = 0.013), NLR (2.16 ± 1.1 vs. 1.92 ± 0.96, P = 0.040), and PLR (115.45 ± 57.07 vs. 101.02 ± 40.06, P = 0.010). The levels of hemoglobin, total leukocyte count, absolute lymphocyte count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and red cell distribution width were similar in the two groups. Conclusion: In this study, we found higher NLR and PLR in subjects with DKD than those without DKD. NLR and PLR may be considered as cheap, readily available alternative markers of DKD in resource-poor settings.