Sex differences of neutrophil to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio in predicting the severity of coronary lesions in acute coronary syndrome patients.

Background: The neutrophil-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (NHR) is closely related to the occurrence and severeness of coronary stenosis in subjects with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Men have higher NHR levels than women. The study was designed to examine the usefulness of NHR for predicting severe coronary stenosis in male and female ACS subjects.

Methods: We enrolled 165 ACS patients (105 males and 60 females) who underwent coronary angiography. Clinical parameters; fasting glucose, creatinine, and uric acid levels; lipid profiles; and routine blood indices were measured. The NHR was computed by dividing the neutrophil numbers by the concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Coronary stenosis severity was assessed using the Gensini score (GS). A GS˃41 points was regarded as a high GS.

Results: The NHR was clearly greater in male ACS individuals than in their female counterparts (P = 0.001). The NHR was positively linked to the GS (r = 0.330, P = 0.001) in men, whereas there was no association between NHR and the GS in women (r=-0.0.032, P = 0.805). Univariate logistic regression analyses indicated that the NHR predicted a high GS in male ACS patients but not in their female counterparts. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that a high NHR was an independent marker of severe coronary lesions in men (P = 0.001) but not in women (P = 0.274). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the NHR for the prediction of severe atherosclerosis were 0.681 (P = 0.001) and 0.560 (P = 0.431) in male and female subjects, respectively. An NHR value > 3.99 had a specificity and a sensitivity of 68% and 64%, respectively, for forecasting severe atherosclerosis in male subjects.

Conclusions: The NHR could be utilised to independently predict the severeness of coronary lesions in male ACS subjects but not in their female counterparts. Therefore, the NHR should be used with caution when screening female ACS patients for severe coronary restrictions.