Relationship between peripheral blood neutrophil lymphocyte ratio and osteoporosis in Chinese elderly women

Objective To explore the association of peripheral blood neutrophil lymphocyte ratio(NLR) with primary osteoporosis (POP) in Chinese elderly women. Methods From December 2015 to April 2019, a total of 788 elderly women in Chongqing Three Gorges Central Hospital were included in this study.They were divided into three groups according to bone mineral density: 242 cases of osteopenia, 206 cases of normal bone mineral density and 340 cases of osteoporosis.Their height, weight, statuses of bone of left femoral neck and results of blood tests were recorded, and the values of BMI, NLR and OSTA were calculated.The SPSS statistics software was used to analyze the differences of parameters among the three groups.Logistic regression analysis was used to get significant independent related factors for osteoporosis.The relationship of NLR and OSTA with T-score of left femoral neck was confirmed by Pearson correlation test.ROC curves were used to define the values of NLR and OSTA in diagnosis of osteoporosis. Results There were statistically significant differences in age(median values: 66, 68 and 70, χ2=71.596, P<0.001), BMI(median values: 23.46, 24.04 and 25.415, χ2=64.936, P<0.001) and NLR(median values: 1.97, 2.435 and 2.84, χ2=106.218, P<0.001) among the three groups(all P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that age, BMI and NLR were all independent significant related factors.There was correlation of NLR, OSTA with T-score of left femoral neck.In diagnosis of osteoporosis, the cut-off value, maximum Youden index, sensitivity and specificity were 2.395, 0.299, 70.3%, 59.6% for NLR, and -1.315, 0.174, 73.6%, 43.5% for OSTA. Conclusion NLR has intermediate sensitivity and specificity in screening POP in Chinese elderly women, and deserves future researches. Key words: Osteoporosis; Granulocytes; Lymphocytes; OSTA; Bone mineral density; Sensitivity; Specificity; ROC curve; Aged