Immature platelet fraction in diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome

IntroductionDysregulated platelet-endothelial interaction plays a pivotal role in atherothrombotic events in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Immature platelet fraction (IPF) is a hematologic parameter of automated hematologic analyzer and is related to platelet size and cytoplasmic RNA contents. It reflects thrombopoiesis and also is often used as the marker of platelet activity.Material and MethodsWe compared peripheral blood IPF, IPF count (IPC), and mean platelet volume (MPV) of DM and metabolic syndrome (MetS) patients with those of healthy controls. The IPF, IPC, MPV, and other blood cell indices were measured.ResultsThe DM group had significantly higher IPF (2.20 vs. 1.70%, P = .020), IPC (4.80 vs. 4.60 × 109/L, P = .043), and MPV (10.35 vs. 10.00 fL, P = .012) than the control group. Those markers were also increased in MetS patients, but the differences were not statistically significant. Interestingly, when DM patients were stratified according to glycemic control status (≤ 6.5% HbA1c vs. 6.6-7.9% HbA1c vs. ≥ 8% HbA1c), both IPF and IPC were significantly increased in poor glycemic control group (P = .014 and .003). Including various diabetic complications in the analysis, IPF was higher in DM patients complicated by cardiovascular disease than the DM group without cardiovascular disease.ConclusionIPF is elevated in patients with diabetes and associated with poor glycemic control and cardiovascular complication.