Assessment of the Platelet Parameters in Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess platelet morphological parameters in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and to determine the factors affecting those parameters. Methods: A total of 80 children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and 80 healthy control subjects were included in this study. All subjects’ platelet parameters including platelet count (PLT), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW) and plateletcrit (PCT) levels were measured. Age at diagnosis, duration of diabetes, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels of patients with T1DM were also recorded. Results: There was no significant difference in PLT, MPV, PDW and PCT values between patients and controls (P > 0.05). PCT and PLT values were higher in patients with poor metabolic control compared to the other cases (P = 0.002, P = 0.005). Positive correlation was found between HbA1c and PCT (r = 0.28, P = 0.01). There was no correlation between HbA1c and MPV, PDW and PLT. Conclusions: Indices of platelet morphology such as PCT, PLT, PDW and MPV were similar in children with T1DM and in healthy controls. However, an increase in PCT values in poor glycemic control group and a significant positive correlation between PCT and HbA1c were observed, suggesting that PCT levels may be an early marker of vascular complication. J Endocrinol Metab. 2018;8(6):144-148 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jem537