Relationship between inflammatory indicators and bone mineral density in preschool children

To investigate the relationship between inflammatory indicators and bone mineral density in preschool children.

The study population consisted of 393 preschool children aged 4-6 years. NLR, PLR, SII, and PIV were calculated based on lymphocyte counts, neutrophil counts, platelet counts and monocyte counts derived from a complete blood count test. The relationships between inflammatory indicators with BMD increment were analyzed using covariance analysis. ROC curve analysis was used to find a cut-off point for inflammatory indicators that can be assessed for BMD insufficiency. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the association between inflammatory indicators and bone metabolism markers.

NLR (p-trend = 0.010), PIV (p-trend = 0.004) and SII (p-trend = 0.015) were positively associated with BMD increments, whereas PLR was not. ROC curve analysis showed that PIV (AUC = 0.58, 95% CI 0.52-0.64) and SII (AUC = 0.56, 95% CI 0.50-0.62) can predict low BMD, with PIV having the highest ability to predict. PIV was positively associated with osteocalcin and 25⁃(OH)D, whereas SII was positively associated with osteocalcin only.

PIV, SII, and NLR were positively associated with BMD increment. The study suggests that PIV holds promise as a potential tool for predicting the risk of BMD insufficiency in preschool children.

After controlling for various confounders during a 1-year observation period, significant associations were found between the inflammatory indicators NLR, SII, and PIV and increased left-sided heel BMD in preschool children, exploring the finding that chronic inflammation plays a different role in children's bone health than it does in adults. Our findings found that PIV holds promise as a potential tool for predicting the risk of BMD insufficiency in preschool children. Focusing on bone mineral density in preschool children, this study provides valuable evidence and fills a gap in research on this age group. In the study, osteocalcin was also found to be positively correlated with SII and PIV and 25⁃(OH)D was positively correlated with PIV. They may provide potential avenues to enhance understanding of the effects of inflammation on bone.