Purpose: To assess the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as an indicator of inflammation in patients with non-Sjögren dry eye disease.
Methods: Serum NLR and C-reactive protein values were determined in 33 patients with dry eye and in 32 controls. The NLR was calculated by dividing the neutrophil count by the lymphocyte count.
Results: Characteristics of the dry eye and control groups were similar. The mean NLR value was 2.8 ± 1.4 (range: 1.1-6.1) in the dry eye group and 1.6 ± 0.7 (range: 0.8-2.8) in the control group (P = 0.002, t test). The mean C-reactive protein value was 0.6 ± 0.7 mg/dL (range: 0-2.3 mg/dL) in the dry eye group and 0.5 ± 0.6 mg/dL (range: 0-1.9 mg/dL) in the control group (P = 0.307, t test).
Conclusions: The NLR values were found to be higher in patients with non-Sjögren dry eye than in controls. This result suggests that non-Sjögren dry eye disease may be associated with systemic inflammation or the NLR values may increase in local inflammatory ocular diseases.