Age and sex differences in the relationship between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and chronic kidney disease among an adult population in Taiwan.

•Inflammation plays a role in the decline of kidney function; NLR is an inflammation marker.•Our study showed that aging has a differential effect on the relationship between NLR and CKD in men but not in women.•Higher NLR was associated with higher risk of CKD in men younger than 60 years, regardless of other conventional CKD risk factors.•Being inexpensive and readily available, NLR may potentially be used for CKD risk assessing.