NHR ≥0.17 linked to later stroke in vasculitis cohort

Researchers retrospectively analysed clinical data from 150 patients with microscopic polyangiitis or granulomatosis with polyangiitis (MPA/GPA; median age 63.5 years, 64% women). They examined baseline neutrophil-to-HDL cholesterol ratio (NHR) in relation to subsequent all-cause mortality, relapse, end-stage kidney disease, cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and acute coronary syndrome. Death before CVA was treated as a competing event in the cumulative-incidence analysis.

Baseline NHR correlated with Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein. Among the five complications, only CVA had a significant area under the curve in analyses of NHR. Continuous NHR was not significantly associated with CVA after adjustment for age and CRP. In exploratory analyses using a cohort-derived cutoff, NHR ≥0.17 was associated with more subsequent CVAs and lower CVA-free survival; the association remained significant after adjustment for age and CRP.

The findings suggest a possible risk-marker association, not evidence that NHR-guided monitoring or treatment improves outcomes. The retrospective design and exploratory, cohort-derived cutoff limit interpretation and validation in other populations is needed. The source provides no event counts or effect estimates, so the magnitude and precision of the association cannot be assessed from the reported text.