Evaluation of mean platelet volume and platelet count in patients with schizophrenia

Abstract

Introduction: Compared to the general population, cardiovascular diseases are more common in schizophrenia patients and the mortality rate is higher than the general population. One of the explanations for increased cardiovascular events in patients with schizophrenia is the increase in platelet activity. Platelets are essential for progression of atherosclerotic lesions, plaque destabilization, and thrombus formation. Mean platelet volume (MPV) is a measure of platelet size and a good marker of platelet function and activation, which increases in cardiovascular diseases. MPV is routinely reported during complete blood count analysis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate MPV values of patients with schizophrenia. Methods: In this retrospective study, hospital-records of the patients who were consecutively admitted to psychiatry inpatient clinic between January 2015 and January 2017 with the diagnosis of schizophrenia were reviewed. Healthy subjects with no personal history of psychiatric disorder were included as a control group. Results: A total of 100 (59 female, 41 male) schizophrenic patients who had been consecutively admitted to the psychiatry inpatient clinic and 37 (20 female, 17 male) healthy controls were included in this retrospective study. There were no significant differences between the patient group and control group in the terms of age (mean age patient group vs control group: 37.72 vs 35.03, p=0.081) and sex (p=0.603). Body mass index (BMI) was found to be significantly different between groups, higher in the patient group (p=0.001). The MPV was found to be significantly higher in patient group compared with the control group (MPV, patient group vs control group: 10.34 fL vs 9.97 fL, p=0.041). Platelet count (PC) was significantly lower in the patient group (PC, patient group vs control group: 234.36 vs 267.38, p=0.008) There was no correlation between MPV and BMI (p=0.354, r=0.10), and duration of illness (p=0.530, r=0.06). Conclusions: As a result, increased MPV and decreased PC were found in a group of schizophrenic patient in this study. Since increased MPV and decreased PC are evaluated as risk factors for cardiovascular diseases in the general population, they can also be considered as a predictor of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases that are more frequently encountered in schizophrenia.

Mean platelet volume, platelet count, and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in drug-naïve patients with schizophrenia: a cross-sectional study

“…Another study described an increase in MPV in patients with schizophrenia on treatment with typical or atypical antipsychotics compared to a control group the same study assessed platelet counts in both groups and identified a decreased value in the schizophrenia group compared to the healthy group. In addition, the schizophrenia group had a higher body mass index than the control group, which could be related to the increase in MPV ( 11 ).…”