CRP to albumin ratio indicates disease activity in juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients: Study

A total of 130 nsJIA patients, with 74 patients undergoing active disease and 56 patients undergoing inactive disease, based on Wallace criteria and 62 healthy controls participated in this prospective, cross-sectional study. During follow-up, demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were gathered at baseline (T0), as well as at three, six, twelve, and eighteen months (T1, T2, and T4). The Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score was used to assess disease activity (JADAS-27).

At baseline, there were no differences in NLR or PLR, although CRP and CAR were greater in patients than in controls. But, among the JIA patients, there was no positive link found between CAR, NLR, PLR, and JADAS-27. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) model was implemented to all patients with or without active illness, to better evaluate the function of CAR, NLR, and PLR as indicators of disease activity. This study showed that baseline CAR and NLR levels were indicative of increased disease activity risk at 6-month follow-up (p<0.001). Overall, CAR to NLR value might be strengthened by their combined usage and the study of their trend during follow-up, since increasing CAR levels over time could indicate a disease flare in a short period.

Reference:

Di Donato, G., Attanasi, M., Mariarita d’ Angelo, D., La Bella, S., Di Ludovico, A., Chiarelli, F., & Breda, L. (2024). Associations of C reactive protein to albumin ratio, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, platelet to lymphocyte ratio with disease activity in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. In BMC Rheumatology (Vol. 8, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41927-024-00390-x