Thyroid Autoimmunity may Affect Mean Platelet Volume

Abstract

Objective: Mean platelet volume (MPV) has been associated with autoimmune diseases and is considered a potentially useful parameter to assess platelet activity and subclinical inflammation. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of thyroid autoimmunity on MPV.

Methods: 84 patients with newly diagnosed Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT), including 44 euthyroid (EHT, mean age 41.4±10.8 years) and 40 hypothyroid (HHT, mean age 44.6±13.2 years) patients, 61 patients with newly diagnosed Graves’ disease (GD, mean age 42.8±12.4 years) and 57 euthyroid control subjects (age-matched 46.4±11.6 years) were included in the study. Patients were not taking antithyroid medication or levothyroxine. Thyroid hormones and platelet parameters were determined in all study participants.

Results: The MPV of the patients was significantly higher than that of the control group (p:0.008). There was no association between MPV and age, sex, or TSH (p:0.06, p:0.4, and p:0.9, respectively). MPV increased in chronic autoimmune thyroid disease regardless of age, sex, and TSH.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that autoimmunity, rather than thyroid hormone levels, affects MPV in GD and HT.