ABSTRACT

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.

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.

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.

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