Limited joint mobility (LJM) of hand, which is one of the complications of diabetic hand, is associated with diabetic micro- and macroangiopathy although the precise pathogenesis is not completely understood. Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), a simple and novel inflammatory marker, has been reported to have a predictive effect to some diabetic complications in recent years. However, it is not elucidated about the relationship between LJM of hand and NLR in patients with type 2 diabetes. We evaluated the relationships between LJM of hand and NLR in 335 consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes in this cross-sectional study. LJM of hand was diagnosed by a 'prayer sign' or 'table test'. LJM of hand was present in 80 patients. The patients with LJM of hand had significantly older age, longer duration of diabetes, worse renal function, and higher proportion of diabetic neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy. NLR in patients with LJM of hand was higher than that in patients without LJM of hand (2.54 ± 1.46 vs. 2.11 ± 1.04, p = 0.004). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that LJM of hand was positively correlated with NLR (odds ratio, 1.31; 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.69, p = 0.027) after adjustment for age, sex, duration of diabetes, body mass index, hemoglobin A1c, hypertension and dyslipidemia. Our results demonstrate a positive relation between LJM of hand and NLR in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Keywords: Clinical practice; Diabetic hand; Limited joint mobility; Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio.