Neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio is positively associated with subclinical diabetic cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND Subclinical diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) occurs frequently in asymptomatic subjects with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The direct association between the immune system and DCM with effective biomarkers has been demonstrated in previous studies. METHODS Five hundred seven subjects with T2DM were recruited from April 2018 to October 2019 and divided into T2DM with cardiac dysfunction (DCM) group and T2DM without cardiac dysfunction (non-DCM) group. The relationship between the quartiles of Neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and subclinical DCM was evaluated by using adjusted logistic regression models.(covariates: age, sex, BMI, duration of diabetes, and hyperlipidemia). RESULTS Blood NLR was significantly upregulated in DCM group compared to non-DCM group (P = 0.05). Then the adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) of the highest NLR quartile was 14.32 (2.92-70.31) compared with the lowest quartile of NLR after multiple adjusted (P < 0.001). However, there was no significant relation between neutrophil and lymphocyte counts and the occurrence of DCM in T2DM patients. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that NLR was associated with the occurrence of subclinical DCM, suggesting that NLR may be a biomarker for predicting DCM with effectiveness and accuracy. TRIAL REGISTRATION Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1900027080) . Registered 30 October 2019. Retrospectively registered: www.medresman.org.