Summary
Mean platelet volume (MPV) is increased in patients with coronary heart disease or
at risk for stroke. However, MPV determinants have never been assessed in a population
study. The present investigation is a cross-sectional study involving 366 non-selected
subjects (both sexes, mean age 72.9 ± 5.5 [1 SD] years). The main cardiovascular risk
factors, several indexes of adiposity (including percent body fat as estimated by
skinfold measurement, and ultrasound detection of hepatic steatosis and thickness
of abdominal subcutaneous and visceral fat) and ischaemic electrocardiographic (ECG)
changes were assessed in all subjects. Platelet parameters were determined by a Bayer
ADVIA 120 counter. In addition to being associated directly with platelet distribution
width (PDW) and inversely with platelet count (p<0.0001 for both), MPV values were
associated with subcutaneous abdominal fat (p=0.02), fasting blood glucose (p=0.002)
and the prevalence of ischaemic ECG changes (p=0.004), and tended to be higher in
the subjects with a greater prevalence of hepatic steatosis (p=0.07) and higher Homeostasis
Model Assessment (HOMA) index (p=0.09). In multiple logistic regression, of the non-platelet
parameters only percent body fat (p=0.006), ischaemic ECG changes (p=0.01) and blood
glucose (p=0.03) remained independently associated with an MPV ≥8.4 fl (high tertile).
The relative risk (odds ratio) of having ischaemic ECG changes for the subjects with
MPV ≥8.4 fl was 4.2 (95% confidence interval: 2.5–7.1; p=0.006) with respect to the
subjects with lower MPV values. Blood glucose, percent body fat and ischaemic ECG
changes were the main MPV determinants in our elderly population.
Keywords
Mean platelet volume - obesity - diabetes mellitus - ischaemic heart disease - elderly