Relationship of monocyte-to-high density lipoprotein ratio (MHR) and other inflammatory biomarkers (SII, NLR and NHHR) with sarcopenia: a population-based study

Objectives In previous studies, several inflammatory biomarkers derived from complete blood cell counts (CBC), including systemic immune inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and non‑high‑density lipoprotein cholesterol to high‑density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (NHHR) have been shown to act as predictors of sarcopenia. Whether Monocyte–to–High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio (MHR) can forecast the development of sarcopenia has never been demonstrated. Our study attempts to investigate the correlation between MHR and low muscle mass. Methods The study comprised 10,321 participants aged 20 years and above from the US. Survey-weighted logistic regression was performed to explore the association between ln-transformed MHR, SII, NLR, NHHR and low muscle mass. Furthermore, AUC values and ROC curves were used to assess the predictive effectiveness of ln-transformed MHR and other inflammatory markers (SII, NLR, and NHHR). The bootstrap estimated 95% Cl was shown with the AUC. Results In the fully adjusted model, ln SII, ln NLR, ln NHHR, and ln MHR were positively correlated with low muscle mass. (ln SII: OR = 1.59; 95% CI, 1.37–1.84; ln NLR: OR = 1.35; 95% CI, 1.13–1.60; ln NHHR: OR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.27–1.75; ln MHR: OR = 1.98; 95% CI, 1.68–2.33) Compared to the lowest quartile of ln MHR, higher quartiles were significantly associated with increased OR for low muscle mass. (p for trend < 0.0001). In ROC analysis, ln MHR has higher AUC values than ln SII, ln NLR, and ln NHHR. (AUC = 0.7545, 95%CI = 0.7385–0.7705) Conclusion ln-transformed MHR, SII, NLR, and NHHR were positively associated with low muscle mass. MHR performs better in predicting sarcopenia compared to SII, NLR, and NHHR.