Changes in platelet indices linked to high blood sugar and its complications, finds study

Changes in platelet indices linked to high blood sugar and its complications revealed a study published in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Medicine.

High blood sugar or hyperglycemia is a typical characteristic of diabetes which leads to an array of complications. These complications are separated as macrovascular complications such as coronary artery disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease, and microvascular complications such as diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy and diabetic neuropathy.

Platelet dysfunction is linked to high blood sugar which is particularly seen in diabetic patients. Platelet indices act as an indicator of diseases such as metabolic syndrome, stroke, coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus (DM) where the higher mean platelet volume is marked as an indicator of increased risk of these diseases.

The study conducted by Dr. Sunil Kumar et al at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College aimed at evaluating and comparing the platelet indices in non-diabetic patients and diabetic patients with macrovascular and microvascular complications.

"Changes in platelet indices are seen to be statistically associated with diabetes and its complications. They are easily available, simple, convenient, noninvasive, and easy to interpret method to determine platelet dysfunction and in turn predict the presence of microvascular complications" told Dr. Sunil Kumar, Professor and Head, Department of Medicine, Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, Wardha, Maharashtra to Medical Dialogues via email.

The study accessed a total of 125 patients which included age and sex-matched non-diabetic controls. The authors especially evaluated Type 2 diabetes patients for microvascular complications such as diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic neuropathy.

"In a study at the medicine department of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Wardha, Maharashtra, total 125 diabetic patients along with age and sex-matched non-diabetic controls were studied. Patients with T2DM were especially evaluated for microvascular complications," he adds

Explaining about the major findings of the study Dr. Sunil Kumar wrote " we found that the platelet indices, namely MPV, PCT, PDW, and P/LCR were significantly higher in diabetic individuals than those in age and gender-matched controls. Moreover, the increase in MPV, PDW, and P/LCR was more significant in diabetic subjects with microvascular complications when compared with those without microvascular complications. Platelet dysfunction also showed a positive association with HbA1C, retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy individually."

Microvascular complication is one of the major health adversities faced by type 2 diabetes patients. This study showed that platelet indices such as MPV, PCT, PDW, and P/LCR are significantly affected in diabetes patients and could be used as a convenient and cost-effective tool for diagnosis and control of diabetes.

The study was jointly conducted by Rajas S. Walinjkar, Satish Khadse, Sunil Kumar, Shilpa Bawankule, Sourya Acharya at Department of Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe University of Medical Sciences (Deemed to be University), Wardha, Maharashtra, India.

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DOI: 10.4103/ijem.IJEM_13_19