highly significantp < 0.0001
Binary logistic regression analysis with ln-NLR as independent and case/control status as dependent variable with adjustment for sex, age and smoking, showed highly significant effect of ln-NLR ( p < 0.0001) with an odds-ratio (OR) of 3.64 (95% CI: 2.87–4.60) per unit increase of ln-NLR, which corresponds to an OR of 2.68 for each doubling of NLR.