Monocyte to HDL Ratio in The Prediction of Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness

Aim: In this study, we aimed to determine whether an increased monocyte count to high-density lipoprotein (MHR) would predict increased carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). Material and Method: All consecutive subjects presenting to the cardiology outpatient clinic of our institute were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Subjects with cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases were excluded. Subjects were divided into two groups according to carotid IMT: those with carotid IMT >0.9 mm (increased) and those with carotid IMT ≤0.9 mm (normal). The difference in MHR between the two groups was the primary outcome measure of the study.Results: The MHR of the subjects with increased IMT was significantly higher than that of subjects with normal IMT (16.7 ± 5.7 vs. 12.8 ± 5.5, p <0.001). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that age (OR: 1.202, 95% CI: 1.126-1.284, p<0.001) and MHR (OR: 1.190, 95% CI: 1.097-1.291, p<0.001) were significant predictors for a carotid IMT of >0.9 mm. ROC curve analysis revealed an MHR value of 13.4 as a cut-off in the identification of subjects that had increased IMT, with a sensitivity of 72% and specificity of 60.7%.Conclusion: The inflammation marker MHR can be used as a simple and cost-effective marker to predict increased carotid IMT which is accepted as the indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis.