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. 2025 May 6;15(1):15755.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-99274-4.

The association and clinical significance of hematological biomarkers in ankylosing spondylitis

Kamoho Alphonce Rapapa  1   2 , Yujie Deng  1   2 , Yongzhen Peng  1   2 , Jianping Ni  1   2 , Faming Pan  3   4
Affiliations

The association and clinical significance of hematological biomarkers in ankylosing spondylitis

Kamoho Alphonce Rapapa et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a prevalent type of arthritis presented by inflammation in the vertebrae joints accounting for high disability and morbidity rates globally. Although there is limited research exploring efficient diagnostic tools for this condition, a timely and precise diagnosis is required. This case-control study aimed to examine the association and clinical significance of inflammatory markers derived from whole blood cell count when used as indicators of AS and to assess the reliability of these indicators in a clinical setting. A logistic regression was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic potential of inflammatory biomarkers when used independently and in combination with other indices. Pearson's correlation test was used to analyze normally distributed data and Spearman's correlation coefficient was used for non-normally distributed data. A total of 171 AS patients were included in this study. There was no statistical difference in age between the groups (P > 0.05). There were significant variations in the following counts among groups counts: SII, WBC, RDW, ESR, CRP, neutrophil, lymphocyte, platelet, dNLR, and MLR, counts (P < 0.05), with WBC, CRP, ESR, platelets, lymphocyte, neutrophils, dNLR, MLR, and SII being significantly elevated in the AS patients group (P < 0.05). Based on the BASDAI score, 45 patients were assigned to the active group and 126 patients to the remission group. These two groups showed no statistical difference regarding age, RDW, WBC, platelets, neutrophils, monocytes, PLR, and dNLR (P > 0.05). SIRI, NLR, PLR, dNLR, NMLR, and SII may serve as valuable biomarkers of AS in a clinical setting.

Keywords: Ankylosing spondylitis; Biomarkers; Complete blood count; Diagnostic; Inflammatory markers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Data utilized was obtained through prior informed consent and ethical approval and all procedures were performed following the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments and access was approved by First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(A,B) Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showing the diagnostic performance of the parameters for discriminating active AS patients from those in remission.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(A,B) Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis showing the diagnostic performance of the parameters for the presence of AS.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(A,B) ROC curves of hematological biomarkers when together with standard inflammatory indices (acute phase reactants (APR)) in discriminating AS patients and controls.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(A–D) ROC curves of hematological biomarkers when alone and when in combination with standard inflammatory indices (acute phase reactants (APR)) in discriminating AS patients and controls.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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