Divergent associations of inflammatory markers with bone turnover markers in elderly patients with osteoporotic fractures

Abstract

The association between inflammatory markers (IMs) and bone turnover markers (BTMs) in osteoporotic fracture patients has not been comprehensively studied. Therefore, this study examined the correlation between the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), or Monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and BTMs in osteoporosis (OP) fracture patients. This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed 740 OP fracture patients admitted to the hospital from January 2017 to July 2022. MLR, NLR, and PLR were calculated based on each patient’s complete blood count. The relationship between IMs and BTMs was assessed using three models by adjusting variables. Furthermore, the potential curve relationship between IMs and BTMs was also determined via the threshold effect analysis and curve fittings. In addition, stratified analysis was performed on each adjusted variable to confirm the stability of the results. After adjusting the variables, the results showed that NLR was negatively correlated with procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP) (β = -1.1788, 95% CI: -1.7230 to -0.6345, P -value < 0.0001) and β-C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (β-CTX) (β = -0.0104, 95% CI: -0.0145 to -0.0062, P -value < 0.0001), Furthermore, MLR was negatively correlated with P1NP (β = -17.4523, 95% CI: -27.7335 to -7.1710, P -value = 0.0009) and β-CTX (β = -0.1327, 95% CI: -0.2211 to -0.0443, P -value = 0.0034). However, PLR indicated a positive correlation with P1NP (β = 0.0326, 95% CI: 0.0007 to 0.0645, P -value = 0.0458) and β-CTX (β = 0.0003, 95% CI: 0.0001 to 0.0006, P -value = 0.0204). The threshold effect analysis and curve fittings revealed the presence of a turning point between NLR, MLR, and P1NP, β-CTX. In addition, the stratified analysis validated the result’s stability. In conclusion, this study indicates a negative correlation between NLR and MLR with P1NP, while PLR shows a positive correlation with P1NP. Additionally, NLR and MLR exhibit a negative correlation with β-CTX, whereas PLR demonstrates a positive correlation with β-CTX. Further research is required to assess the intricate mechanisms linking IM with bone metabolism. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-024-75704-7.