Association between platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease：findings based on NHANES 1999–2018

Objective: The platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is one of the recognized indicators of systemic inflammation. Currently, there are no studies on the relationship between this individual indicator of PLR and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This study aims to clarify the relationship between the inflammatory response indicator platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the adult population. Method: Adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who were included in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2018 are the subjects of the current cross-sectional survey. The relationship between PLR and the prevalence of COPD was analyzed using the generalized linear model. Then visualize the relationship between them using restricted cubic splines (RCS). Subgroup analysis was conducted to evaluate the robustness of the relationship between the PLR index and the prevalence of COPD. Result: This study included a total of 22,679 subjects, of whom 973 were diagnosed as having COPD. The restricted cubic spline (RCS) curve demonstrated a linear relationship between the PLR index and COPD prevalence. A positive association was observed between the PLR index and COPD (β = 1.002, 95% CI: 1.001–1.003, P < 0.001). Subgroup analyses and interaction tests confirmed the robustness of this relationship, which remained consistent across most subgroups. Conclusion: This study found that there is a linear relationship between the PLR index and the prevalence of COPD, which has an impact on public health. The control of PLR inflammatory indicators plays a key role in reducing the occurrence of COPD and improving long-term health outcomes.