Neutrophil/Lymphocytes Ratio and Haemoglobin Electrophoretic Pattern in an Undergraduate Student’s Population Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a very cheap and accurate method of accessing inflammation and is fast emerging as a prognostic biomarker in many diseases. This study determines the Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and haemoglobin electrophoretic patterns in an undergraduate student’s population at Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. One hundred and fifty (150) undergraduate students aged between 17 and 30 years old were recruited for the study. Five millimeters (5ml) of venous blood was collected from each participants into ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) vacutainer bottle for the determination of haemoglobin genotype using cellulose acetate electrophoresis method while the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio was calculated from neutrophil and lymphocyte values obtained from BC 5000 Mindray Hematology Auto-Analyzer. The results obtained showed that the mean±SD value of Neutrophil/Lymphocyte ratio was 1.21 ± 0.07 for male and 1.14 ± 0.06 for female participants with both within normal reference ranges and with no significant difference (p=0.4692). 100 (66.7%) subjects had haemoglobin genotype AA (HbAA) out of which 48 (32%) male, 52 (34.7%) female while 50 (33.3%) participants had haemoglobin genotype AS (HbAS) of which 24 (16%) male, 26 (17.3%) female. No haemoglobin genotype SS/SC (HbSS/HbSC) traits were seen in the study population. Furthermore, results also showed that haemoglobin genotype and sex had no effects on the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (p=0.05). This study shows a 66.7%, 33.3%, and 0% expression for HbAA, HbAS, and HbSS/HbSC, respectively, and that the Neutrophil/Lymphocyte ratio is within the normal reference range. Further studies to include other haemoglobin variants such as haemoglobin SS (HbSS) and haemoglobin SC (HbSC) is recommended.