Abstract
Background and aims
The investigation of inflammatory background of hypertension (HTN) concentrates mainly on patients with primary HTN. The aim of the study was to analyze the role of new parameters of inflammation—lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), in the population of children with primary (pHTN) and secondary renal hypertension (rHTN).
Material and methods
The study group consisted of 70 children with pHTN, 46 patients with rHTN, and 30 age-matched normotensive controls. The retrospective analysis focused on the evaluation of LMR, NLR, and PLR values in relation to blood pressure (BP) parameters from in-office and ambulatory BP monitoring measurements. Twenty-four hours, daytime, and nighttime periods were evaluated. Blood pressure variability (BPV) was defined by standard deviation and coefficient of variation of analyzed values.
Results
LMR and NLR values in HTN patients differed significantly vs. controls. Dippers with pHTN demonstrated significant correlations between LMR, NLR, PLR, and markers of BPV, in 24 h and daytime diastolic BP and mean arterial pressure. In dippers with rHTN such correlations concerned only LMR.
Conclusions
LMR may become a promising marker of BPV, useful in children with primary and secondary hypertension.
Impact
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Lymphocyte to monocyte ratio is a novel marker of blood pressure variability, connected to target-organ damage, in children with primary and secondary renal hypertension.
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Our study analyzes for the first time the connections between blood cell count-driven inflammatory markers (lymphocyte to monocyte, neutrophil to lymphocyte, and platelet to lymphocyte ratios) and parameters of blood pressure variability, and compares those ratios in children with primary and secondary hypertension.
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The increasing incidence of hypertension among children urges the search for simple methods of assessment of its complications. LMR may be of added value in the analysis of the inflammatory background of hypertension.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Conceptualization: K.M., A.B.-G., P.M.; investigation: K.M., A.B.-G., P.M., M.G., S.G.; resources: P.M., M.G., S.G.; formal analysis: K.M., P.M., M.G.; writing—original draft: K.M., A.B.-G., P.M.; writing—review and editing: K.M., D.Z.; visualization: K.M., P.M., M.G.
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All procedures were performed in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its further amendments. Retrospective informed consent was obtained from all available subjects involved in the study.
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Musiał, K., Bargenda-Lange, A., Mazurkiewicz, P. et al. Lymphocyte to monocyte ratio and blood pressure variability in childhood hypertension—a pilot study. Pediatr Res 93, 137–142 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02056-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02056-1
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