Correlation between platelet to lymphocyte ratio and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Liang Yuanfang; Cheng Yaping; Li Xiaoyan

doi:10.3760/j.issn.1673-4777.2025.10.017

Abstract：Objective To investigate the correlation between platelet to lymphocyte ratio(PLR)and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA),and to evaluate its predictive value for disease activity in RA patients.Methods A total of 64 RA patients hospitalized in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology,Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital from June to December 2022 were enrolled.According to the disease activity index of 28 joints(DAS28-ESR)score based on erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),patients were divided into low disease activity group(10 cases),moderate disease activity group(29 cases)and high disease activity group(25 cases).The clinical data and PLR levels of the three groups were compared,and the correlation between PLR and other indicators was analyzed.The risk factors for RA disease activity were determined by ordinal Logistic regression analysis,and the predictive value of PLR for disease activity was judged by receiver operating characteristic curve.Results The DAS28-ESR,tender joint count(TJC),swollen joint count,ESR,neutrophil count and PLR in the high disease activity group were higher than those in the low and moderate disease activity groups.The hemoglobin and cholinesterase in the high disease activity group were lower than those in the low and moderate disease activity groups(all P＜0.05).Correlation analysis showed that PLR was positively correlated with DAS28-ESR,ESR and platelet count,and negatively correlated with absolute lymphocyte count,hemoglobin,alanine aminotransferase and cholinesterase(all P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that TJC,ESR and PLR were risk factors for disease activity in RA patients(odds ratio=8.723,1.471,1.068,all P＜0.05).The area under the curve of PLR for predicting disease activity in RA patients was 0.712(95％confidence interval:0.567-0.857),the cut-off value was 212.95,the sensitivity was 56.0％,and the specificity was 94.9％.Conclusion PLR is related to the disease activity of RA patients.Combined with other related indicators,PLR can be used as an index to judge the disease activity,which has a suggestive effect on clinical practice.