Could serum uric acid to HDL cholesterol ratio predict sacroiliitis?

Recently, several inflammatory markers, including the uric acid to HDL cholesterol ratio (UHR), triglyceride/HDL cholesterol ratio (THR), systemic inflammatory index (SII), and C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR), have been reported to be associated with inflammatory conditions. However, their collective role in sacroiliitis has not been extensively studied. This study aims to investigate the general characteristics and inflammatory markers in patients with and without sacroiliitis, and to observe any differences in these parameters in subjects with active and chronic sacroiliitis. Patient with sacroiliitis who showed up in the Radiology Department of Abant Izzet Baysal University Hospital were enrolled. Patients diagnosed with sacroiliitis based on clinical symptoms, physical examination, and conventional radiography or MRI findings were included in the sacroiliitis group. Patients without sacroiliitis who present with back pain or hip pain but have normal radiographic findings were included in the control group. General characteristics, including age, sex, body mass index (BMI), medical history, and disease duration, were collected from all participants. Blood samples were collected to measure inflammatory markers, including UHR, THR, SII, and CAR. The collected data were compared between sacroiliitis and control groups. Subgroup analysis was also performed to compare the inflammatory markers between subjects with active and chronic sacroiliitis. The median UHR of the sacroiliitis and control subjects were 11% (3–20%) and 7% (3–13%), respectively (p<0.001). Serum UHR was significantly and positively correlated with CRP (r: 0.4, p = 0.001) and ferritin (r: 0.17, p = 0.045) levels. In ROC analysis, a UHR level higher than 8% has an 81% sensitivity and 64% specificity in detecting sacroiliitis (AUC: 0.8, p<0.001, 95% CI: 0.72–0.84). In conclusion, we suggest that UHR could provide useful data as an additional diagnostic tool in patients with sacroiliitis.