Mean Platelet Volume as a Predictor of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus is one of the most common medical disorder in pregnancy which can result in significantmorbidity and mortality if left unrecognized. The prevalence of GDM in India varies from 3.8 to 21 % in different parts of the country and it is on a rise. Early diagnosis of this complication & appropriate treatment aimed at tight control over maternal glucose levels may positively influence perinatal outcome.MPV is a simple, cost effective measure to predict GDM.As there is no Indian study available till date on MPV assessment as a predictor for GDM. Aims and Objectives: To study the sensitivity of MPV as a predictor of GDM. Objectives of the study are 1) To assess the mean platelet volume in pregnant women. 2) To compare mean platelet volume to platelet count. 3) To know the sensitivity of MPV in predicting GDM. Materials and Methods: Prospective analysis of 172 pregnant women attending M.S.RAMAIAH HOSPITALS during study period (October 2014 to September 2016) is done. The MPV (Mean platelet volume) of patients who developed GDM and IGTT are compared to the patients who developed no GDM. Results: The mean age of the patients studied was 27.39?4.09. The mean BMI of the study population is 27.62?3.00. In this study, pre pregnancy BMI was not considered as majority of the patients were not aware of their pre-pregnancy body weight. Hence BMI cannot be considered as a significant determinant of the study outcome. Out of 172 patients, 27 patients (15.7%) are detected to have GDM and 9 patients (5.2%) had IGTT. The MPV in the patients with no GDM is 9.70?1.25 and the patients with GDM is 11.05?1.59 whereas with IGTT is 10.93?1.46 in the first assessment. The MPV in the patients with no GDM is 9.81?1.13 (FL) and the patients with GDM is 11.53?1.47 whereas with IGTT is 11.69?1.45 in the second assessment. The P value obtained is statistically significant of less than0.001 suggesting that higher MPV values are associated with increased incidence of GDM and IGTT. The platelet count in the patients with no GDM is 2.36?0.55 (lakhs) and the patients with GDM is 2.34?0.79 whereas with IGTT is 2.29?0.41 in the first assessment. Conclusion: The present study shows that elevated MPV as a statistically significant predictor of GDM. Assessment of MPV at earlier weeks of period of gestation has higher sensitivity than the MPV assessment done at later weeks of period of gestation. However, future studies with a larger series and long-term follow-up of such cases are needed to confirm this. Further studies on larger population will help in the detection of the efficacy of MPV in the prediction of GDM.