Objectives:
Increased arterial stiffness in patients with hypertension is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Inflammation plays a role in the development of arterial stiffness. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may exhibit inflammation. We thus investigated the association of arterial stiffness with NLR and hs-CRP in hypertensive patients.
Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed the results of a cohort of individuals from Kailuan Company in Hebei province undergoing health examinations. A total of 6,023 hypertensive patients were recruited. We analyzed the association between NLR, hs-CRP and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) using linear regression.
Results:
We found that the level of NLR, hs-CRP and baPWV were significantly increased among hypertensive patients. Adjusted NLR, PLR and hs-CRP are gradually increased across the quartiles of NLR. A significantly increased baPWV was found in the highest quartile of NLR (P < 0.001). The multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrated NLR and hs-CRP were significant related with increased baPWV in hypertension. In male hypertensive patients, NLR and hs-CRP were statistically significant related with baPWV (P < 0.01, respectively). In older hypertensive patients, NLR had showed a significant association with baPWV (P < 0.01). NLR and hs-CRP were showed strong association with baPWV in untreated hypertensive patients (P < 0.01).
Conclusion:
Increased NLR and hs-CRP are associated with an increased baPWV in hypertensive patients. As an easy and inexpensive laboratory measure, NLR may provide important information regarding arterial stiffness in hypertension.
