ArticlePloS one2014
Average values and racial differences of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio among a nationally representative sample of United States subjects.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 192 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
192 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 379 citations in OpenAlex.
- Diagnostic accuracy of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in systemic lupus erythematosus.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Association of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio with bone mineral density in post-menopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC women's health · 2024Pooled it
- The association between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio and systemic sclerosis and its complications: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Pooled it
- The Impact of Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Count Ratio in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of intensive care medicine · 2022Pooled it
- The prognostic utility of pre-treatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte-ratio (NLR) in colorectal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Cancer medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio on admission to predict the severity and mortality of COVID-19 patients: A meta-analysis.The American journal of emergency medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Association between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2020Pooled it
- The role of the systemic inflammatory response in predicting outcomes in patients with operable cancer: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2017Pooled it
- Palbociclib in combination with letrozole in patients with estrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative advanced breast cancer: PALOMA-2 subgroup analysis of Japanese patients.International journal of clinical oncology · 2019Trial
- Methylation-derived Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Lung Cancer Risk in Heavy Smokers.Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2018Trial
- Lesion Diameter Versus Inflammatory Biomarkers and Clinical Severity in Predicting Treatment Selection in Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis.World journal of surgery · 2026Article
- Refining the prognostic role of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in liver cirrhosis.Internal and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Inverse Association between the Omega-3 Index and Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio: Pooled Results from Four Supplementation Trials.The Journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Search for prognostic markers of mortality in inpatients receiving palliative chemotherapy.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Observational
- Linking systemic inflammation to periodontal disease: insights from blood-derived biomarkers in NHANES.Odontology · 2026Article
- Relationship between the advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI) and all-cause and cause-specific mortality among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a population-based study.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2026Article
- [Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus].Revista medica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social · 2026Observational
- Differential effects of neighborhood ambient PMInternational journal of health geographics · 2026Article
- Higher Neutrophil-to-Albumin Ratio Is Associated with Greater Coronary Atherosclerotic Burden According to the Gensini Score in an Angiography-Referred Population.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
132 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionSeveral studies reported the negative impact of elevated neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on outcomes in many surgical and medical conditions. Previous studies used arbitrary NLR cut-off points according to the average of the populations under study. There is no data on the average NLR in the general population. The aim of this study is to explore the average values of NLR and according to race in adult non-institutional United States individuals by using national data.
methodsThe National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of aggregated cross-sectional data collected from 2007 to 2010 was analyzed; data extracted included markers of systemic inflammation (neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and NLR), demographic variables and other comorbidities. Subjects who were prescribed steroids, chemotherapy, immunomodulators and antibiotics were excluded. Adjusted linear regression models were used to examine the association between demographic and clinical characteristics and neutrophil counts, lymphocyte counts, and NLR.
resultsOverall 9427 subjects are included in this study. The average value of neutrophils is 4.3 k cells/mL, of lymphocytes 2.1k cells/mL; the average NLR is 2.15. Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic participants have significantly lower mean NLR values (1.76, 95% CI 1.71-1.81 and 2.08, 95% CI 2.04-2.12 respectively) when compared to non-Hispanic Whites (2.24, 95% CI 2.19-2.28-p<0.0001). Subjects who reported diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and smoking had significantly higher NLR than subjects who did not. Racial differences regarding the association of smoking and BMI with NLR were observed.
conclusionsThis study is providing preliminary data on racial disparities in a marker of inflammation, NLR, that has been associated with several chronic diseases outcome, suggesting that different cut-off points should be set according to race. It also suggests that racial differences exist in the inflammatory response to environmental and behavioral risk factors.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.