White blood cell count, sex and age are major determinants of heterogeneity of platelet indices in an adult general population: results from the MOLI-SANI project

Abstract

The online version of this article has a Supplementary Appendix. BackgroundThe understanding of non-genetic regulation of platelet indices -platelet count, plateletcrit, mean platelet volume, and platelet distribution width -is limited. The association of these platelet indices with a number of biochemical, environmental and clinical variables was studied in a large cohort of the general population. Design and MethodsMen and women (n=18,097, 52% women, 56±12 years) were randomly recruited from various villages in Molise (Italy) in the framework of the population-based cohort study "Moli-sani". Hemochromocytometric analyses were performed using an automatic analyzer (Beckman Coulter, IL, Milan, Italy). Associations of platelet indices with dependent variables were investigated by multivariable linear regression analysis. ResultsFull models including age, sex, body mass index, blood pressure, smoking, menopause, white and red blood cell counts, mean corpuscular volume, D-dimers, C-reactive protein, high-density lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins, triglycerides, glucose, and drug use explained 16%, 21%, 1.9% and 4.7% of platelet count, plateletcrit, mean platelet volume and platelet distribution width variability, respectively; variables that appeared to be most strongly associated were white blood cell count, age, and sex. Platelet count, mean platelet volume and plateletcrit were positively associated with white blood cell count, while platelet distribution width was negatively associated with white blood cell count. Platelet count and plateletcrit were also positively associated with C-reactive protein and D-dimers (P<0.0001). Each of the other variables, although associated with platelet indices in a statistically significant manner, only explained less than 0.5% of their variability. Platelet indices varied across Molise villages, independently of any other platelet count determinant or characteristics of the villages. ConclusionsThe association of platelet indices with white blood cell count, C-reactive protein and Ddimers in a general population underline the relation between platelets and inflammation.Key words: platelet, inflammation, C-reactive protein, white blood cells, age, gender. Citation: Santimone I, Di Castelnuovo A, De Curtis A, Spinelli M, Cugino D, Gianfagna F, Zito F, Donati MB, Cerletti C, de Gaetano G and Iacoviello L on behalf of the Moli-sani ProjectInvestigators.White blood cell count, sex and age are major determinants of heterogeneity of platelet indices in an adult general population: results from the MOLI-SANI project. Haematologica 2011;96(8):1180-1188. doi:10.3324/haematol.2011 This is an open-access paper.White blood cell count, sex and age are major determinants of heterogeneity of platelet indices in an adult general population: results from the MOLI-SANI project

Correlation Between Vitamin D Level and Platelet Indices in Children Aged 0-18 Years

“…But, it was obtained different results in various studies. Some studies reported that platelet indices, except for PDW, were higher in female patients than in male patients, especially in the control group (19,21). In accordance with our study, the other studies announced that there was no difference vitamin D levels and PDW among groups in terms of sex (16,22).…”

“…The PLT count was poor inversely correlated with age while MPV had positive weakly correlation with age in all groups. Our findings were fairly consistent with the literature, except for MPV which displayed inconsistent Results are given as mean ± standart deviation MPV: Mean platelet volume, PDW: Platelet distribution width, PCT: Plateletcrit (21). We also observed that there were not difference between sex in terms of vitamin D levels and PLT indices in all groups.…”

The Relationship between the Plasma PCSK9 Levels and Platelet Indices in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease

“…Animal models with a high cholesterol diet show a significant increase in the PLT count compared to those fed the normal diet 19) . The positive correlation between the PLT count and LDL-C level and multiple metabolic factors reported in population studies suggests a potential link between the PLT count and dyslipidemia 1,2) . Secondly, experimental studies have shown that lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation stimulates the expression of PCSK9, whereas knockdown of PCSK9 mediated by small-interfering RNA (siRNA) attenuates the ox-LDL-induced expression of proinflammatory genes 20,21) .…”

“…As mentioned earlier, various genetic and nongenetic factors, such as age, gender and the WBC count can contribute to the modifications in the platelet indices 2) . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify the relationship between the plasma PCSK9 level and the platelet indices.…”

“…Recently, platelet indices have been receiving increasing attention as possible markers of inflammation and of a greater risk for metabolic disorders and atherogenesis 1,2) . A higher platelet (PLT) count, even within the normal range, has been associated with metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease (CAD) 1) .…”