(P30-003-23) The Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio Is Associated With Hs-CRP in a Sample of Underrepresented Individuals From the Miami Adult Studies on HIV(MASH) Cohort

Objectives: Inflammation is associated with worse outcomes in HIV infected individuals. Even chronic low-grade inflammation can lead to adverse effects. C-reactive protein(CRP) is a widely used inflammatory marker while the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is being proposed as a potential, cost-effective inflammatory marker. No known studies have been conducted on the association between NLR and CRP. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between NLR and hs-CRP in individuals from the Miami Adult Studies on HIV(MASH) Cohort to determine if NLR could be a good predictor of inflammation in this population.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the analytic sample was drawn from the ongoing MASH Cohort. Inflammation was measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Hs-CRP and complete blood count for neutrophils and lymphocytes were performed by Labcorp (Burlington,NC) Informed consent, demographics, and blood samples were collected by trained personnel. Viral load (VL) was abstracted from medical records (suppressed VL ≤50 copies/mL). NLR was calculated by dividing total neutrophils and lymphocytes. Statistical analyses included independent sample t-test and linear regression to examine the association of NLR and hs-CRP performed with SPSS 26. Models were adjusted for age, sex, race, ethnicity, HIV status, and VL.

Results: PLWH accounted for 46.6% of the sample, and 90.9% had suppressed VL.The sample included 1034 participants with 58% males, 61.1% were non-Hispanic Black, 28.8% Hispanic. The mean age was 54.6 ± 7.89 years, mean BMI as 29.4 ± 6.61 kg/m², and mean hs-CRP was 4.78 ± 8.68 mg/L. Males had a significantly higher NLR than females (P < 0.001). There was a positive linear association between NLR and hs-CRP that remained significant after adjusting for confounders (adjusted model β= 0.016 SE= 0.004; P< 0.001).

Conclusions: NLR was significantly associated with hs-CRP in this sample. The linear association noted between NLR and hs-CRP supports studies in other populations showing that NLR could be a cost-effective inflammatory marker. However, further investigation is needed on the relationship between NLR and hs-CRP to determine if NLR is a reliable surrogate for hs-CRP.

Funding Sources: National Institute on Drug Abuse