Summary
The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a biomarker of systemic inflammation and
measures innate-adaptive immune system balance. The omega-3-index (O3I) measures the
amount of EPA+DHA in blood. Both a low O3I and an elevated NLR are associated with
increased risk for chronic disease and mortality, including cardiovascular diseases
and cancer. Hypothesizing that low O3I may partly contribute to systemic chronic inflammation,
we asked if a relationship existed between O3I and NLR in healthy adults (≥18 y, n = 28,871, 51% female) without inflammation [C-reactive protein (CRP) <3 mg/mL)] who
underwent a routine clinical assessment. NLR was inversely associated with O3I before
(p < 0.0001) and after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and CRP (p < 0.0001). Pearson correlations of other variables with NLR were r = 0.06 (CRP), r = 0.14 (age), and r = 0.01(BMI). In this healthy population, an O3I < 6.6% was associated with increasing
NLR whereas NLR remained relatively constant (low) when O3I > 6.6%, suggestive of
a quiescent, balanced immune system.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 07, 2022
Accepted:
January 5,
2022
Received in revised form:
December 13,
2021
Received:
October 6,
2021
Footnotes
✰Reprint requests: W.S. Harris, Fatty Acid Research Institute, Sioux Falls, SD 57,106, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
✰✰Sources of Support: This work was supported by the Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI). FARI is a non-profit foundation bringing together nutrition scientists and biostatistical experts to accelerate discovery of the relationships between fatty acids, especially omega-3 fatty acids, and health. Pending application and approval, data described in the manuscript, code book, and analytic code will be made available upon request to the Fatty Acid Research Institute (https://www.faresinst.org/).
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