The Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Predicts Diabetic Retinopathy in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction:Diabetic retinopathy (DR), as a serious and specific neurovascular complication of DM, remains the leading cause of vision loss and preventable blindness in adults aged 20–74 years. Several studies have indicated that chronic inflammation plays an important role in DR. Emerging evidence suggests that the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) are novel potential markers of inflammatory responses. However, only a few articles have evaluated the association between these factors and DR.Patients and Methods: The study included 133 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Retinopathy was graded using the International Clinical Diabetic Retinopathy Disease Severity Scale.Results:The mean NLR, PLR and MLR were significantly higher in patients with DR than in patients without DR (p < 0.001, p = 0.002, and p = 0.003, respectively). In the post hoc analysis, the PDR group had the highest NLR and MLR values among the three groups. Multiple logistic regression showed that the PLR was an independent risk factor for DR (odds ratio [OR]: 1.022, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.005–1.040 p = 0.013). Based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the cutoff value of PLR as an indicator for DR diagnosis was projected to be 78.70 and yielded a sensitivity and specificity of 80.7% and 48.9%, respectively, with an area under the curve of 0.669 (95% CI: 0.572–0.765, P = 0.002).Conclusions:Our results suggest that PLR may be an independent risk factor for evaluating DR in patients with type 2 diabetes.