title: Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in obese adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Obesity is a growing health problem in most of the developed countries. It is associated with many chronic diseases, affecting particularly endocrine and cardiovascular systems. Inflammation plays a key role in pathophysiology of obesity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the inflammation status in obese children using neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study 130 obese and 57 healthy children were assessed retrospectively. According to Centers for Disease Control 2000 (CDC) BMI percentiles for childhood and adulthood, 85-95 percentile was considered as overweight and >95 percentile as obese.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lymphocyte/neutrophil ratios in the obese group were significantly higher compared to those in healthy controls (p=0.03 and p=0.045, respectively). Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and CRP level in the obese group were significantly higher compared to those in healthy controls (p=0.02 and p=0.00, respectively). Thrombocyte/lymphocyte ratios were not significantly different between two groups (p=0.156).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is possible that childhood obesity which has been increasingly prevalent recently triggers the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis during the early years of life. Increased neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio might be associated with the severity of inflammation which plays a role in the early stages of atherosclerosis. Therefore, taking childhood obesity under control using diet and other treatment methods will prevent mortality and morbidity in the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Namik Kemal University Faculty of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Namik Kemal University Faculty of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahsen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Namik Kemal University Faculty of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa Metin
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Donma
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Namik Kemal University Faculty of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Feti
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tulubas
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Namik Kemal University Faculty of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muhammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demirkol
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Namik Kemal University Faculty of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Erdogan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Namik Kemal University Faculty of Medicine, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gurel
keywords: Childhood obesity; inflammation; neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio