The Relationship Between Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio,Platelet/Lymphocyte Ratio And Disease Activity In Patients With Ankylosing Spondylitis

Objective: Inflammation can lead to the changes in the number of neutrophils,lymphocytes and platelets.Meanwhile,the changes in the number of white blood cells and platelets may also suggest the occurrence of systemic inflammatory diseases.In recent years,it has been proposed that the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio(NLR),platelet/lymphocyte ratio(PLR)are related to the process of inflammatory,and play an important role in the immune pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis(AS).The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between NLR,PLR and disease activity in AS patients retrospectively.Methods: The study population consisted of 77 AS patients,along with 35 healthy control subjects.The patients were divided into two groups(patients with mild disease activity and patients with severe disease activity)according to Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity indices(BASDAI).Correlations between NLR,PLR and disease activity was analyzed.Results: NLR and PLR were higher compared to control subjects(P < 0.05).NLR and PLR were found higher in patients with severe disease activity than patients with mild disease activity(P = 0.004,P < 0.001).NLR correlated well with BASDAI,erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR)and C-reactive protein(CRP)(r = 0.374,P = 0.001;r = 0.266,P= 0.019;r = 0.409,P<0.001,respectively).Similarly,PLR was associated with BASDAI,CRP and ESR(r = 0.448,P < 0.001;r = 0.278,P = 0.014;r = 0.472,P < 0.001,respectively).Conclusion: Our study illustrates that NLR and PLR have relationship with the disease activity of AS patients,and it may be two useful inflammatory markers for assessment of disease activity in patients with AS to guide the therapy and evaluate the efficacy of drugs in clinic.