ArticleImmunity & ageing : I & A2025
Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a sex-specific predictor of short-term mortality in hospitalised older adults with COVID-19: a pragmatic biomarker of inflammaging in acute vulnerability.
Article in Immunity & ageing : I & A, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a low-cost inflammatory biomarker increasingly investigated in older populations as a cross-cutting indicator of immunosenescence and inflammaging. While elevated NLR has been shown to predict poor short-term outcomes in patients with COVID-19, its long-term prognostic role-particularly in older adults and in a sex-specific perspective-remains unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the association between admission NLR and 3.5-year all-cause mortality in older adults hospitalised with COVID-19, with a focus on sex-specific patterns.
methodsProspective observational cohort study with 3.5-year follow-up. A total of 440 patients aged ≥ 65 years hospitalized with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were enrolled. NLR was calculated at admission and dichotomized using the optimal cut-off value (12.63) identified via maximally selected rank statistics. Associations between NLR and mortality were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age, sex, and vaccination status. Effect modification by sex was explored through interaction terms and sex-stratified analyses.
resultsHigh NLR at hospital admission was independently associated with an increased risk of long-term all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 1.71; 95% CI: 1.21-2.43; p < 0.001). In sex-stratified analyses, this association remained significant only in females (HR 2.50; 95% CI: 1.49-4.22; p < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses revealed a significant association for mortality within 90 days of admission (HR 1.80; 95% CI: 1.15-2.81; p = 0.010), whereas no association was found for deaths occurring beyond 90 days (HR 0.83; 95% CI: 0.43-1.61; p = 0.58).
conclusionsNLR identifies a time-limited window of high vulnerability in older adults, particularly among women, reflecting the interplay between acute inflammation, immunosenescence, and processes typically associated with frailty. These findings highlight NLR as a pragmatic marker of inflammaging that could support sex-sensitive risk stratification and post-discharge interventions in geriatric care.
trial registrationNot applicable.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.