Complete blood count parameters as indicators for obesity-related inflammation: A cross-sectional study of Syrian females

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the complete blood count (CBC) parameters, such as inflammatory markers, in a group of overweight and obese Syrian females. Materials and Methods: A total of 268 Syrian females from March 2020 to February 2021 were included in this study. Participants were divided into five groups based on Body Mass Index (BMI): normal weight, overweight, obesity class I, obesity class II, and obesity class III. White blood cells (WBCs), neutrophil counts (NCs), lymphocyte counts (LCs), monocyte counts (MCs), platelet counts (PLTs) counts, neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (dNLR), monocyte–lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were analyzed based on BMI groups. Results: The results revealed that WBCs, NCs, LCs, MCs, PLTs, and MLR were significantly different between BMI groups (P < 0.001), and showed a moderate correlation with BMI (R = 0.519, 0.412, 0.431, 0.540, 0.339, and 0.262, respectively, with P < 0.001 for each parameter). In addition, these parameters were significantly increased corresponding with an increased degree of obesity. Whereas, no significant differences for NLR, dNLR, or PLR were found between BMI groups (P = 0.38, 0.31, and 0.34, respectively), and they were not correlated with BMI (P = 0.880, 0.619, and 0.212, respectively). In regression analysis, BMI increased with increasing WBCs, NCs, LCs, MCs, and PLTs (P < 0.0001 for each). The odds of increased BMI were 8.7 times greater with increasing MLR values (P = 0.0001). On the contrary, BMI did not show significant relations with NLR, NLR, and PLR. Conclusion: This study concludes that a positive correlation was found between WBCs, NCs, LCs, MCs, PLTs, and MLR with BMI. In addition, these parameters were increased in corresponding with increased the degree of obesity. Since these parameters are cheap and fast tests, we suggest future studies to assess their benefits in the context of obesity treatment monitoring.