The Correlation between Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio in Prediabetes Patients

BACKGROUND: Prediabetes is a metabolic state between normoglycemia and diabetes and is known to carry a higher risk of developing overt diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The relative and absolute risks of all-cause mortality, CVD, coronary heart disease, and stroke in prediabetes patients, as well as in diabetic patients, is higher than that in patients with normoglycemia. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is a method used to stratify CVD risk. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) correlates with cIMT in prediabetes patients. METHODS: From January 1, 2016, to February 20, 2021, 581 adults their 30s–70s who underwent carotid ultrasonography as part of a comprehensive medical examination at the Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital were enrolled. Statistical analysis using SPSS presented t-test and chi-square test significance levels into a group with normal cIMT (nIMT; cIMT <1 mm) and a group with thick cIMT (tIMT; cIMT ≥1 mm). Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to confirm the correlation between NLR and cIMT. RESULTS: In prediabetic adults, age, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), systolic blood pressure, and NLR were significantly higher in the tIMT group than in the nIMT group. In the regression analysis, NLR, age, and HbA1c were significantly correlated with cIMT. CONCLUSION: NLR was significantly higher in the tIMT group than in the nIMT group; therefore, NLR may be used to assess CVD risk in prediabetes patients.