Serum inflammation index, inflammatory biomarkers, and preeclampsia risk: a hospital- based case-control study

Background : Many studies have suggested that serum inflammatory biomarkers influence preeclampsia (PE) risk in pregnant women. However, few studies have assessed whether serum inflammation index and inflammatory biomarkers are correlated with PE risk. Methods : A 1:1 matched case-control study was conducted to explore the association between the serum inflammation index and inflammatory biomarkers and the risk of PE in pregnant Chinese women. A total of 440 pregnant women with PE and 440 control pregnant women were included in the study. Sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics information was collected through face-to-face questionnaires. The platelet counts, neutrophil counts and lymphocyte counts in the blood samples were detected using a Coulter HMX Hematology Analyzer, and the inflammation index was calculated. Inflammatory biomarkers were analyzed by ELISA kits. Results : Compared with the lowest quartile, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval (CI)) of the highest quartiles were 0.41 (95% CI: 0.30–0.55, P trend < 0.001) for systemic immune inflammation index (SII), 0.53 (95% CI: 0.39–0.71, P trend < 0.001) for lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (MLR), and 0.63 (95% CI: 0.48–0.83, P trend < 0.01) for neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Additionally, for serum inflammation biomarkers concentrations, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) were 2.41 (95% CI: 1.22, – 4.76, P trend < 0.05) for C-reactive protein (CRP). Conclusions : SII, MLR and NLR was negatively correlated with PE risk, but serum CRP concentrations were positively correlated with PE risk among pregnant Chinese women.