White Blood Cell and Platelet Counts as Simple and Inexpensive Markers for Determination the Metabolic Syndrome among patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a rapidly growing public health problem worldwide and is significantly associated with poor cardiovascular outcomes. Increased visceral adiposity activates a low-grade chronic inflammatory state, oxidative stress, and blood coagulation. This study aimed to investigate the association of both white blood cell (WBC) and platelet counts, as inflammatory markers, with the presence and severity of MetS among T2DM patients.. The study was conducted on 117 adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) seen at Tishreen University Hospital (TUH) and Diabetes Center of Lattakia city in Syria. MetS was diagnosed according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III). The results showed a statistically significant increase in platelet counts in MetS patients compared to patients without MetS, and a statistically significant increase in WBC counts with increasing MetS components. There was a significant association between platelet counts and body mass index (BMI) (P=0.013), triglycerides levels (P=0.02), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) (P=0.041). In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that high counts of WBCs and Platelets are associated with the prevalence and severity of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS).