Association of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio with metabolic syndrome and its components in Asian Indians (CURES-143).

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is the state of chronic low grade inflammation. This study looks at the relationship of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in subjects with and without MS in Asian Indians.

METHODS: Study subjects (n=754) were recruited from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study. MS was defined using the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATP) III criteria modified for waist according to World Health Organization Asia Pacific guidelines. A complete hemogram was done in all subjects using a five-part hematology analyzer (model SF-3000; Sysmex, Kobe, Japan). The NLR was calculated as the ratio between counts for neutrophils and total lymphocytes in subjects with (n=422) and without (n332) MS and correlated with number of metabolic abnormalities in those with MS.

RESULTS: Subjects with five metabolic abnormalities had the highest NLR, and with decreasing number of metabolic abnormalities, the NLR decreased linearly (p for trend <0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that even after adjusting for age, gender and body mass index, MS was strongly associated with NLR (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION: Among Asian Indians, NLR is correlated with MS and also with the number of metabolic abnormalities.