Systemic Inflammatory Indices and Liver Dysfunction in Turner Syndrome Patients: A Retrospective Case-control Study

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Hepatology
• Immunology

Background:

• Liver function abnormalities are noted in Turner syndrome (TS), but underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
• Low-grade inflammation is linked to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, suggesting a potential inflammatory component in TS-related liver issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate associations between systemic inflammatory indices and hepatic abnormalities in patients with Turner syndrome.
• To evaluate specific inflammatory markers, including aspartate transaminase to lymphocyte ratio index (ALRI), aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI), gamma-glutamyl transferase to platelet ratio (GPR), neutrophil-lymphocyte-ratio (NLR), and platelet lymphocyte ratio.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of medical records for 79 patients with Turner syndrome.
• Matched-pair analyses comparing 66 TS patients with 66 healthy controls, matched for age and BMI.
• Assessment of systemic inflammatory indices and liver function tests.

Main Results:

• Liver function abnormalities were present in 57% of TS patients.
• Elevated ALRI, APRI, GPR, and NLR were observed in TS patients with liver dysfunction compared to those with normal liver function.
• Matched-pair analyses showed significantly higher ALRI, APRI, and GPR in TS patients compared to healthy controls; logistic regression confirmed TS diagnosis association with these indices and liver dysfunction.

Conclusions:

• Noninvasive inflammatory indices (ALRI, APRI, GPR) show promise as indicators of liver dysfunction in Turner syndrome.
• Further prospective studies are required to validate these findings and determine the clinical and prognostic significance of systemic inflammatory indices in TS.