Role of Platelet/Lymphocyte, Neutrophil/Lymphocyte, and Interleukin-37/Interleukin-17 Ratios in the Occurrence and Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Figures & data

Table 1. Comparison of baseline data and main indicators between the two groups.

	RA group (n = 58)	Control group (n = 49)	T/χ^2	P
Age, year	55.43 ± 1.68	50.31 ± 2.23	1.87	NS
Gender, n(%)			0.56	NS
Female	40 (68.97%)	37 (75.51%)
Male	18 (31.03%)	12 (24.49%)
Duration of disease, month	20.97 ± 0.75	/	/	/
DAS28-ESR	6.59 ± 0.39	/	/	/
ESR, mm/h	34.58 ± 0.27	14.59 ± 0.78	25.82	<.01
CRP, mg/dL	39.88 ± 3.50	2.37 ± 0.03	9.85	<.01
IL-17, pg/L	74.94 ± 4.94	51.53 ± 16.07	10.53	<.01
IL-37, pg/L	336.85 ± 44.29	169.70 ± 42.11	31.23	<.01
Lymphocyte, *10^9/mL	1.12 ± 0.12	1.19 ± 0.13	−2.80	<.01
Neutrophil count, *10^9/mL	3.43 ± 0.33	2.25 ± 0.35	8.69	<.01
Platelet count, *10^9/mL	176.06 ± 43.61	140.80 ± 34.61	4.60	<.01
NLR	2.88 ± 0.56	1.88 ± 0.31	19.54	<.01
PLR	143.32 ± 32.00	121.78 ± 35.11	3.33	<.01
IL-37/IL-17	4.49 ± 0.99	4.34 ± 1.33	0.65	NS
RF, IU/mL^a	237.00 [80.75, 456.12]	7.14 [8.92, 11.35]	−19.45	<.01
Anti-CCP, RU/mL	229.55 ± 149.32	3.07 ± 0.93	11.55	<.01

NS means no significant difference./indicates not applicable. ^aData exhibits a skewed distribution, and was expressed as median (inter quartile range, IQR). Abbreviation: ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28-ESR, disease activity score with 28 joint using erythrocyte sedimentation rate; IL-17, Interleukin-17; IL-37, Interleukin-37; NLR, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; PLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio; RF, rheumatoid factor; anti-CCP, anti-cyclocitrulline peptide.

Table 2. Comparison of relevant indicators before and after RA treatment.

	RA (n = 58)		Control group (n = 49)	t/F/H Value	P
	Before	After
ESR, mm/h	34.58 ± 2.27	18.83 ± 3.5	14.59 ± 1.78	139.90	<.01
CRP, mg/dL	39.88 ± 23.50	7.23 ± 3.7	2.37 ± 0.30	127.65	<.01
DAS28-ESR	6.59 ± 0.39	3.58 ± 0.65	/	30.25	<.01
IL-17, pg/L	74.74 ± 4.94	58.61 ± 5.85	51.53 ± 16.07	10.53	<.01
IL-37, pg/L	336.85 ± 44.29	139.32 ± 44.29	169.70 ± 42.11	339.10	<.01
Lymphocyte count, *10^9/mL	1.12 ± 0.12	1.18 ± 0.12	1.19 ± 0.13	4.81	<.01
Neutrophil count, *10^9/mL	3.43 ± 0.33	2.31 ± 0.63	2.25 ± 0.35	112.93	<.01
Platelet count, *10^9/mL	176.06 ± 43.61	137.38 ± 36.88	140.80 ± 34.61	15.04	<.01
NLR	2.88 ± 0.56	1.80 ± 0.24	1.88 ± 0.31	95.96	<.01
PLR	143.32 ± 32.00	118.77 ± 27.57	121.78 ± 35.11	10.36	<.01
IL-37/IL-17	4.49 ± 0.99	2.55 ± 0.55	4.34 ± 1.33	83.25	<.01
RF, IU/mL^	237.00 [80.75, 456.12]	99.15 [36.02, 234.27]	7.14 [8.92, 11.35]	95.62	<.01

P-values are related to the comparison between the RA patients before and after treatments. ^Data was expressed as median (inter quartile range, IQR). Pairwise comparison: ESR, CRP, IL-17, IL-37, IL-37/IL-17 among three groups, all P < .05; Neutrophil count, Platelet count, NLR, and PLR, there was no statistical difference between after treatment and the control group, both P > .05. Abbreviation: ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28-ESR, disease activity score with 28 joint using erythrocyte sedimentation rate; IL-17, Interleukin-17; IL-37, Interleukin-37; NLR, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; PLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio; RF, rheumatoid factor; anti-CCP, anti-cyclocitrulline peptide.

Figure 1. Comparison of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with NLR, PLR and IL-37/IL-17 in RA group before/after treatment and control group. R software was adopted for analysis and mapping. Abbreviation: IL-17, interleukin-17; IL-37, interleukin-37; NLR, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio; PLR, platelet/lymphocyte ratio.

Figure 2. Correlation among NLR, PLR, IL-37/IL-17 and DAS28-ESR. The correlation analysis and mapping were carried out using R software. P < .05 indicated a significant difference. Abbreviation: DAS28-ESR, 28-joint disease activity score using erythrocyte sedimentation rate; IL-17, interleukin-17; IL-37, interleukin-37; NLR, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio; PLR, platelet/lymphocyte ratio.

Figure 3. Correlation among NLR, PLR and IL-37/IL-17. The correlation analysis and mapping were carried out by using R software. Differences were considered statistically significant at P < .05. Abbreviation: IL-17, interleukin-17; IL-37, interleukin-37; NLR, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio; PLR, platelet/lymphocyte ratio.

Table 3. Pairwise correlation of indicators in RA group.

	Group	NLR	PLR	IL-37/IL-17	DAS28-ESR	ESR
Group^井
NLR	−0.785**
PLR	−0.357**	0.227*
IL-37/IL-17	−0.766**	0.650**	0.383**
DAS28-ESR	−0.866**	0.699**	0.352**	0.687**
ESR	−0.835**	0.711**	0.350**	0.666**	0.987**
CRP	−0.804**	0.610**	0.341**	0.633**	0.775**	0.775**

The correlation was performed using Spearman correlation analysis. **P < .01. Grouping: 0 = before treatment, 1 = after treatment. Abbreviation: CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28-ESR, disease activity score with 28 joint using erythrocyte sedimentation rate; IL-17, Interleukin-17; IL-37, Interleukin-37; NLR, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio; PLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio.

Data availability statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.