Risk predictive value of white blood cell count in patients with diabetes‑associated lower urinary tract symptoms: A population-based study.

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of diabetes‑associated Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) is relatively low, and there are limited clinical studies on its associated factors. The present study proposed to investigate the predictive value of various inflammatory indices in patients with diabetes‑associated LUTS.

METHODS

Utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005‒2008, patients were categorized into four groups: normal group, Diabetes Mellitus (DM) group, LUTS group, and diabetes‑associated LUTS group. Inflammatory indices included C-Reactive Protein (CRP), White Blood Cell (WBC) count, Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR), Systemic Inflammation Response Index (SIRI), and Systemic Inflammation Index (SII). Multivariate logistic regression and Restricted Cubic Splines (RCS) were employed to evaluate the relationship between inflammatory indices and diabetes‑associated LUTS.

RESULTS

A total of 5680 participants were included in the final analysis, comprising 3779 females and 1901 males. The prevalence of diabetes‑associated LUTS was 6.9% in females and 2.2% in males. Diabetes-associated LUTS was associated with older age, lower educational level, hypertension, congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, emphysema, and higher body mass index and inflammatory indices. Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that WBC count was a significant factor for both female and male diabetes‑associated LUTS patients, with higher WBC levels correlating with increased diabetes‑associated LUTS risk (females: adjusted Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.115 [1.032‒1.205], p = 0.006; males: OR = 1.207 [1.083‒1.345], p = 0.001). RCS revealed a positive association between WBC count and diabetes‑associated LUTS in female and male participants.

CONCLUSION

Inflammatory markers such as CRP and WBC count were higher in the diabetes‑associated LUTS group compared to the other three groups. WBC count is an associated factor for diabetes‑associated LUTS, and incorporating WBC count into clinical assessments can aid in identifying diabetes‑associated LUTS patients, thereby facilitating targeted interventions.