Neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio as an inflammatory biomarker of diabetic nephropathy among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: A comparative cross-sectional study

• Published in: SAGE open medicine 2022-01, Vol.10, p.20503121221140231-20503121221140231
• Main Authors: Gurmu, Mesfin Zewude, Genet, Solomon, Gizaw, Solomon Tebeje, Feyisa, Teka Obsa, Gnanasekaran, Natesan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomarkers; Blood pressure; Cross-sectional studies; Diabetes; Diabetic nephropathy; Lymphocytes; Neutrophils; Original
• ISSN: 2050-3121; 2050-3121
• DOI: 10.1177/20503121221140231

Objective: This study aimed to determine the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as an inflammatory biomarker among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study design was conducted on 199 T2DM patients attending Bole 17 Health Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The urine albumin test was done by the MICRAL-II test strip. Fasting blood sugar was measured by a glucometer. Complete blood count was analyzed using an automated hematology analyzer (HUMAN GmbH, Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany). The student’s t-test, a chi-square test, and Pearson correlation were applied to analyze the data. Results: Out of the 199 diabetes mellitus patients, 45 (22.6%) and 154 (77.4%) were found with DN and without DN, respectively. Interestingly, the mean NLR value (2.66 ± 0.49) was found significantly higher in diabetic patients with DN compared to the mean NLR (1.65 ± 0.20) in diabetes patients without DN (p