{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,24]],"date-time":"2026-03-24T15:37:37Z","timestamp":1774366657552,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765497600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc) is an autoimmune disease with a wide range of different biomarkers, while inflammation-based ratios have been less extensively investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between inflammation-based ratios, disease-specific parameters, and endothelial dysfunction, as well as to assess the predictive role of inflammation-based ratios in lcSSc. Methods: A total of 38 lcSSc patients and 38 matched controls with primary Raynaud\u2019s phenomenon were analyzed at baseline regarding inflammation-based ratios, lcSSc-specific parameters, and parameters of endothelial dysfunction. LcSSc patients were prospectively observed during a 3-year follow-up period in which lcSSc complications were recorded annually. Results: LcSSc patients had a significantly higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio, monocyte\/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio, and neutrophil\/HDL ratio versus controls (all p &lt; 0.05). During follow-up, the MLR, C-reactive protein (CRP)\/albumin ratio, monocyte\/HDL ratio, and neutrophil\/HDL ratio increased significantly (all p &lt; 0.05) in lcSSc patients. The monocyte\/HDL ratio correlated positively with the DETECT score step 2 (r = 0.453, p = 0.032) and negatively with the UCLA SCTC GIT total score (r = \u22120.469, p = 0.024). The CRP\/albumin ratio correlated significantly with the EUSTAR index (r = 0.473, p = 0.024) and the fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio correlated with asymmetric dimethylarginine (r = 0.452, p = 0.044). The MLR and CRP\/albumin ratio were associated with development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (p = 0.036, p = 0.006), and the lymphocyte\/HDL ratio was associated with newly developed interstitial lung disease (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Readily available inflammation-based ratios may reflect vascular and inflammatory activity and could contribute to risk stratification for pulmonary complications in lcSSc; however, these exploratory findings require confirmation in larger cohorts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14248806","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]],"date-time":"2025-12-12T14:04:40Z","timestamp":1765548280000},"page":"8806","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Association of Inflammation-Based Ratios with Endothelial Dysfunction Markers and Clinical Parameters in Limited Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Leyla","family":"Schweiger","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Angiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7883-7973","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andreas","family":"Meinitzer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4037-3608","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heimo","family":"Strohmaier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Medical Research (ZMF), Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Florentine","family":"Moazedi-F\u00fcrst","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Viktoria","family":"Nemecz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Angiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1659-7185","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katharina","family":"Kurzmann-G\u00fctl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Angiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marianne","family":"Brodmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Angiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Franz","family":"Hafner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Angiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0832-1322","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Philipp","family":"Jud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Angiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1212","DOI":"10.1093\/rheumatology\/keh671","article-title":"Classification of systemic sclerosis. 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