nasrin bazgir - Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Shahid Mostafa Khomaeini Hospital, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
elham shafiei - Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.

 Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by synovial involvement, inflammation, andjoint destruction that, if not properly controlled, can damage cartilage, bone, ligaments, and tendons and, in some cases, lead todisability. The aim of this study was to identify inflammatory biomarkers in rheumatoid arthritis patients.This case-control study was performed on ۵۰ rheumatoid arthritis patients who referred to the Rheumatology Clinic of ShahidMostafa Khomeini Hospital in Ilam and their healthy counterparts. All patients were examined by a rheumatologist for diseaseactivity based on DAS۲۸ (Disease Activity Score Calculator for Rheumatoid Arthritis) criteria.The results of this study showed that the mean lymphocyte count in the case group was lower than the control group, and therewas a statistically significant relationship between lymphocyte level in the two groups. The mean neutrophil count was higher inthe case group than in the control group, and this relationship was significant. The mean neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was higherin patients with rheumatoid arthritis than in controls and in women more than men. Stepwise logistic regression also showed thatage, sex, DAS۲۸, VitD (Vitamin D), RF (rheumatoid factor), and NLR (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio) significantly predict theincidence of rheumatoid arthritis (p value < ۰.۰۵). Therefore, NLR can be used as a prognostic factor.

Inflammatory Biomarker, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, Rheumatoid arthritis