Purpose: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), also known as glycated hemoglobin, indicates the blood glucose control over the last 8-12 weeks. HbA1c level is a useful marker for the monitoring of the diabetic patient and shows the necessity of any adjustment to the treatment has to be made. Mean platelet volume (MPV) is a marker of platelet function and activation which is determined by automated blood cell counters inexpensively. In the present study, our aim was to investigate the correlation between MPV and HbA1c and to evaluate the effect of different glycemia levels on MPV levels.

Materials and Methods: HbA1c and MPV results of 3647 people (1391 male, 2256 female) were obtained retrospectively from laboratory information system. The data was grouped according to HbA1c levels as follows: group A HbA1c < 7%, group B 7-9%, group C > 9%. HbA1c, MPV and glucose levels were determined with HPLC, empedance and hexokinase methods, respectively. The statistical comparisons between the groups were made by Kruskal-Wallis test and the correlations between the variables were made with Spearman test. A p value of <0.05 was considered as significant.

Results: It was seen that the levels of MPV increased as HbA1c levels increased. There was a statistically significant difference in MPV levels between groups A vs C and B vs C, (p<0.05), but not A vs B (p>0.0.5). In group B, MPV showed statistically significant positive correlation with HbA1c (r = 0.076, p=0.016) and also with fasting glucose (r = 0.077, p=0.016).

Conclusion: Our data show that exposure of platelets to high glucose levels leads to increase in MPV levels which in turn disrupts the normal behavior of platelets creating platelet hyper reactivity. Keeping blood glucose levels in acceptable limits has great importance in preventing platelet hyper reactivity and lowering the risk of clot formation in diabetic patients. MPV may be considered to be a candidate marker for vascular complications especially in diabetic patients.