Association between the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and prehypertension.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in patients with prehypertension (PHT).


BACKGROUND
Inflammation plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular diseases. A pathophysiological link also exists between inflammation and PHT. NLR is a simple marker for the assessment of inflammatory status. There is a lack of data regarding the association between NLR and pre-hypertensive state.


METHODS
The present cross-sectional study included 33 newly diagnosed PHT patients and 35 normotensive control subjects. Prehypertension was defined as a systolic blood pressure (BP) of 120-139 mm Hg and/or a diastolic BP of 80-89 mm Hg.


RESULTS
Patients were divided into tertiles based on NLR values: 1.17 (0.9-1.42) in tertile 1; 1.57 (1.43-1.78) in tertile 2; and 2.40 (1.82-4.5) in tertile 3. The frequency of PHT was significantly higher for patients in the upper NLR tertile compared to the middle and lower NLR tertiles (21 (91.3%), 7 (30.4%), and 5 (22.7%), respectively; p<0.001). Systolic BP and diastolic BP were significantly higher among patients in the upper NLR tertile than among those in the other NLR tertiles.


CONCLUSIONS
An association exists between PHT and NLR. NLR measurement, as well as monocyte count, may be used to indicate increased risk of prehypertension (Tab. 2, Ref. 48).
M
M
Aydin
M
M
Yuksel
A
A
Yildiz
N
N
Polat
M Z
MZ
Bilik
M A
MA
Akil
H
H
Acet
M
M
Demir
U
U
Inci
N
N
Toprak
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology*; D058246:Prehypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology
inflammatory.; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; prehypertension