Neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio is a reliable predictive marker for early‐stage diabetic nephropathy

Summary Introduction Diabetic nephropathy ( DN ) is a common complication in diabetics. Recent evidence suggests that neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio ( NLR ) affects the development and acceleration of some diabetic complications. Scholars have rarely investigated the relationship between DN and NLR . This study aims to evaluate the relationship between DN and NLR and estimate whether or not NLR is a reliable marker for early‐stage DN . Patients and methods The study included 253 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, 115 of whom have early‐stage DN . The control group was composed of 210 healthy age‐ and sex‐matched subjects. Results The NLR values of the patients with diabetes were significantly higher than those of the healthy controls ( P  < 0·001), and the NLR values of the patients with early‐stage DN were higher than those of the patients without DN ( P  < 0·001). Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk predictors of DN include NLR , creatinine, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, HbA1c and insulin resistance. NLR ( P  = 0·004, EXP (B) = 2·088, 95% CI  = 1·271–3·429) levels positively correlated with DN . The DN odds ratio increased by a factor of 2·088 (95% CI , 1·271–3·429) for every one unit increase in NLR . Conclusions Increased NLR was significantly associated with DN , and high NLR values may be a reliable predictive marker of early‐stage DN .