The relationship between mean platelet volume with microalbuminuria and glycemic control in patients with type II diabetes mellitus

Microalbuminuria is the best predictor of diabetic nephropathy development in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (DM). It is also accepted as an indicator of diabetic microangiopathy. Increased activation of platelets has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of vascular complications. In light of these findings, this study was designed to investigate the association of microalbuminuria - an indicator glycemic control and microangiopathy - with mean platelet volume (MPV). Subjects underwent laboratory analyses and their MPV, HbA1c, serum creatinine, fasting, and postprandial blood glucose levels and 24-hour urine albumin levels were recorded. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS v13.0 for Windows XP. Mann-Whitney U-test, student's t-test, spearman correlation analysis, ROC analysis, categorical regression analysis, and chi-square test were used for statistical evaluations. The study included 354 patients with type II DM. The median MPV value of microalbuminuria-positive patients was 9 (8-9.5) fl while MPV of patients without microalbuminuria was 8.5 (8-9.2) fl and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.004). We determined positive correlation between MPV and 24-hour urine microalbuminuria (r = 0.14, p = 0.009). There were no significant differences between patients with HbA1c levels below and above 7% in terms of MPV (p > 0.05). We determined no correlation between MPV and HbA1c levels (r = -0.36, p = 0.64). This study determined a significant positive relationship between microalbuminuria - a microvascular complication of diabetes-and MPV. No significant correlation was identified between poor glycemic control and MPV in diabetic patients. However, we are in the opinion that the association between poor glycemic control and MPV in type II diabetic patients should be investigated in prospective studies with larger samples.