The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with mild cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older women aged over 70 years: a population-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundThe neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a marker of inflammation that can be obtained quickly, conveniently, and cheaply from blood samples. However, there is no research to explore the effects of sex and age on the relationship between the NLR and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in community-dwelling older adults.MethodsA total of 3,126 individuals aged over 60 years in Shanghai were recruited for face-to-face interviews, and blood samples were collected. MCI was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scale, and neutrophil count and lymphocyte counts were measured in fasting blood samples. The NLR was calculated by dividing the absolute neutrophil count by the absolute lymphocyte count.ResultsIn females, the NLR in the MCI group was significantly higher than that in the cognitively normal group (2.13 ± 0.94 vs. 1.85 ± 0.83, p < 0.001) but not in men. Logistic regression showed that a higher NLR was an independent risk factor for MCI in women [odds ratio (OR) = 1.33; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14–1.55]. In addition, the elevated NLR quartile was associated with an increased risk of MCI, especially in women older than 70 years (p value for trend = 0.012).ConclusionCompared with males, female MCI patients had a significantly higher NLR than cognitively normal controls. In addition, elevated NLR was found to be significantly associated with MCI risk in women older than 70 years. Therefore, elderly Chinese women with a higher NLR value may be the target population for effective prevention of MCI.

Effects of C-reactive protein and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio on cognitive dysfunction after basal ganglia hemorrhage

“…The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR) was a biomarker with simple numerical values, and previous studies have shown that it was a good counting indicator in response to systemic in ammation [10].Recently, several studies have shown a positive association between elevated NLR and cognitive impairment / mild cognitive impairment [11].The results of a cross-sectional study based on 3169 people over 60 years old showed that compared with men,Female patients with MCI had signi cantly higher NLR than cognitively normal.In addition, the study also found that elevated NLR in women over 70 years old was signi cantly associated with the risk of mild cognitive dysfunction [12].NLR in the acute ischemic stroke was independently associated with PSCI after 3 months,While high NLR was speci cally associated with cognitive dysfunction in the memory and visuospatial domains [13].…”

“…Higher NLR was associated with cognitive decline and dementia [11,12].A large number of studies have shown that high NLR can be found in cognitive dysfunction after acute ischemic stroke [13], The increase of NLR may represented a high level of in ammation, which promoted the occurrence and development of cognitive decline after cerebral hemorrhage.…”