Association of monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio and practical nutritional indicators in peritoneal dialysis patients

Background: This study aimed to analyze the association between monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and nutritional indicators in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients Methods: Among the 228 maintenance PD patients 44 of those were included in this retrospective analysis. The geriatric nutrition risk index (GNRI) was calculated by using serum albumin and body weight, and the prognostic nutrition index (PNI) was by serum albumin and lymphocyte count. Monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and nutritional indicators were analyzed by Spearman correlation and linear regression analysis. Results: During the follow-up of 25 months, median GNRI and PNI values showed an increase from a median baseline GNRI of 86.7 (IQR, 92.9, 104.9) to 100.5 (IQR, 92.7, 109.0) (p=0.03) and PNI values of baseline 43.1 (IQR, 41.0, 46.3) to 46.1 (IQR, 39.1, 50.5) (p=0.02). MLR showed a decrease from the baseline median value of 0.38 (IQR, 0.28, 0.58) to 0.36 (IQR, 0.29, 0.47) p=0.03. There were no changes in leukocyte and hs-CRP levels. There were statistically significant negative correlations between MLR and PNI (rs -0.452; p=0.002), GNRI (rs -0.400 p=0.008), and BMI (rs -0.308; p=0.04). No significant correlation was observed with albumin levels (rs =0.221; p=0.154). MLR was statistically significantly associated with GNRI, PNI, and body mass index (BMI) except albumin, however, hs-CRP level was only associated with serum albumin in both univariate and multivariate regression analysis. Conclusion: This study indicates that the higher MLR values were associated with lower GNRI and PNI values in PD patients. MLR may help clinicians to identify the nutritional status of this population.