LEUKOCYTE INDICES IN NON-DIABETIC HYPERTENSIVES CAMEROONIANS MODESTLY PREDICT CARDIOVASCULAR RISK. PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE HYRICCA PROJECT

Abstract

Objective: study the contribution of leukocyte parameters in cardiovascular risk assessment of non-diabetic hypertensive adults Design and method: we carried out a cross sectional study including non-diabetic hypertensive patients followed up at the cardiology unit of the Yaoundé Central Hospital from November to June 2022. The collected data included cardiovascular risk factors, biomarkers of risk (Hs CRP and atherogenic indices) and cardiovascular risk scores (Framingham 2008, European SCORE 2003, WHO CVD risk laboratory-based charts 2019, ASCVD 2013 and Reynolds score). Results: we included 165 participants (102 females) with a mean age of 57.6 ± 10.4 years. The median duration of hypertension since diagnosis was 7 years and only 27% of participants on treatment had a controlled blood pressure. There was a significantly weak and positive correlation between neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and systolic blood pressure (rho = 0.24, p = 0.02). Participants with dyslipidaemia had significantly raised levels of granulocyte count, eosinophil count and their corresponding leukocyte ratios (p < 0.05). Highly sensitive CRP and the atherogenic index of plasma were significantly correlated respectively with the eosinophil to lymphocyte ratio (rho = 0.28, p = 0.01) and granulocyte to lymphocyte ratio (rho = 0.18, p = 0.03). There were also weak positive correlations between leukocyte parameters, Reynolds and ASCVD 2013 scores. Conclusions: leukocyte indices could be useful in cardiovascular risk assessment of hypertensive patients.