Abstract

This study examined the effects of anthropometric variables and metabolic imbalance on platelet aggregation in diabetic patients. A total of 109 volunteer were used; 58 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients (28 males and 30 females) who were receiving treatment at the University College Hospital Ibadan and 51 non diabetic control recruited from residents of Agbowo and Teachers of some secondary schools within the University of Ibadan. Body mass index (BMI)  and body surface area (BSA) were assessed as indices of anthropometry, fasting blood sugar (FBS), plasma cholesterol and triglycerides (TAG)  were determined using standard method and platelet aggregation test was done on the whole blood. Platelet aggregation ratio was higher in non diabetic compared to the diabetic subjects (P<0.001). The mean platelet aggregation ratio was also significantly higher in the male diabetic when compared to the female diabetic group (P<0.001). There was a significant linear relationship between platelet aggregation ratio and BMI (P<0.01), age (P0.05), FBS (P< 0.01), plasma cholesterol (P<0.01) and plasma TAG (P<0.05). However, the correlation coefficient between platelet aggregation ratio and BSA is not significant. In the non diabetic control subjects the correlation coefficient is not significant. Findings from this study suggest that, the increased platelet aggregation found in diabetic patients increased significantly with increased BMI but decrease with age. The mean platelet aggregation is also increased significantly with increase metabolic imbalance.

Key word: Platelet aggregation, anthropometry, diabetes mellitus, Body mass index (BMI), fasting blood sugar (FBS).

Abbreviation

Abbreviations: BMI, Body mass index; BSA, body surface area; FBS, fasting blood sugar; TAG, triglycerides.