HALP Score and Disease Activity in Psoriatic Arthritis: Comparison with Healthy Controls
Abstract
Objectives: This study evaluated the relationship between the haemoglobin-albumin-lymphocyte-platelet (HALP) score and disease activity in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and compared HALP scores between PsA patients and healthy controls.
Methods: This single-centre, cross-sectional study included 73 PsA patients and 59 healthy controls. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected. Disease activity was assessed using the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) based on C-reactive protein (CRP), the Disease Activity index for Psoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), the visual analogue scale (VAS), and the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). HALP was calculated as haemoglobin × albumin × lymphocyte / platelet. Group comparisons, correlation analyses and ROC analyses were performed.
Results: Compared with controls, PsA patients had higher CRP, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and platelet values, and lower albumin (all P<0.05). HALP scores did not differ significantly between groups (P=0.232). HALP correlated positively with age at diagnosis (r = 0.250; P=0.031) and negatively with ASDAS-CRP (r = −0.259; P=0.026). ROC analysis showed limited diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.561, P=0.228).
Conclusions: Although HALP showed a significant inverse correlation with ASDAS-CRP, the association was weak and its diagnostic performance was poor. HALP alone has limited value in reflecting PsA disease activity or distinguishing patients from controls. This may relate to PsA’s heterogeneous inflammation and treatment status. Larger prospective studies in different PsA subgroups are needed to clarify the potential role of HALP as an objective biomarker.
Keywords
Ethical Statement
References
- 1. Veale DJ, Fearon U. The pathogenesis of psoriatic arthritis. Lancet. 2018;391(10136):2273-2284. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30830-4.
- 2. FitzGerald O, Ogdie A, Chandran V, et al. Psoriatic arthritis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2021 Aug 12;7(1):59. doi: 10.1038/s41572-021-00293-y.
- 3. Ocampo D V, Gladman D. Psoriatic arthritis. F1000Res. 2019;8:F1000 Faculty Rev-1665. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.19144.1.
- 4. Coates LC, Moverley AR, McParland L, et al. Effect of tight control of inflammation in early psoriatic arthritis (TICOPA): a UK multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2015;386(10012):2489-2498. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00347-5.
- 5. Kerschbaumer A, Smolen JS, Aletaha D. Disease activity assessment in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2018;32(3):401-414. doi: 10.1016/j.berh.2018.08.004.
- 6. Schoels M, Aletaha D, Funovits J, Kavanaugh A, Baker D, Smolen JS. Application of the DAREA/DAPSA score for assessment of disease activity in psoriatic arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2010;69(8):1441-1447. doi: 10.1136/ard.2009.122259.
- 7. Helliwell PS, FitzGerald O, Fransen J, et al. The development of candidate composite disease activity and responder indices for psoriatic arthritis (GRACE project). Ann Rheum Dis. 2013;72(6):986-991. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2012-201341.
- 8. Coates LC, Fransen J, Helliwell PS. Defining minimal disease activity in psoriatic arthritis: a proposed objective target for treatment. Ann Rheum Dis. 2010;69(1):48-53. doi: 10.1136/ard.2008.102053.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Rheumatology and Arthritis
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Sezgin Zontul
*
0000-0001-5730-2286
Türkiye
Servet Yolbaş
0000-0001-8516-9769
Türkiye
Elif İnanç
0009-0008-5911-6864
Türkiye
Emrah Şimşek
0009-0004-3169-9966
Türkiye
Early Pub Date
November 28, 2025
Publication Date
January 4, 2026
Submission Date
October 8, 2025
Acceptance Date
November 10, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 12 Number: 1