Correlation Between Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio and Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Uterine Leiomyoma: A Cross-Sectional Study

The inflammatory reaction has been proven to be a key factor in the pathogenesis of uterine leiomyoma. The platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are inexpensive and reliable inflammatory biomarkers. However, evidence of the relationship between PLR and NLR in patients with uterine leiomyoma is limited. This study aimed to explore the relationship between PLR and NLR in patients with incident uterine leiomyoma. This cross-sectional study included 763 patients with uterine leiomyoma who were first diagnosed in our hospital between January 2016 and December 2016. Patient characteristics were collected for univariate analysis, smooth curve fitting, and multivariate piecewise linear regression. Overall, 722 patients with an average age of 40.16 ± 5.99 years were included. The average PLR was 161.22 ± 65.33. Univariate analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between PLR and NLR ( $P<0.0001$ ). In addition, the non-linear relationship between the PLR and NLR was tested using smooth curve fitting after adjusting for potential confounding factors. The multivariate piecewise linear regression model showed that there was a significant positive correlation between PLR and NLR in both PLR <226.45 (β 0.01, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.01; $P<0.0001$ ) and >226.45 (β 0.00, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.00; $P=0.0026$ ). In conclusion, PLR and NLR are positively correlated in patients with uterine leiomyoma. This result clarifies the promoting role of inflammation in the occurrence of uterine leiomyoma.