The Impact of Overweight and Obesity on Platelet Indices in Children and Adolescents

Background: Childhood obesity is a public health problem worldwide . Obesity in children is associated with increased platelet count and platelet activation, contributing to an early inflammatory state that raises the risk of cardiovascular problems. While platelet count is consistently higher, findings on other platelet parameters like Mean Platelet Volume (MPV) and Platelet Distribution Width (PDW) are less consistent. So, The aim of this study was to assess the impact of overweight and obesity on platelet indices among children and adolescents. Subjects and Methods: This was a prospective case control study, conducted upon 40 overweight and obese children and adolescents aged 6-18 years .Overweight is considered if BMI ≥ 85th percentile and < the 95th percentile, while obesity is defined as a BMI ≥ 95th percentile according to CDC growth charts and 40 apparently healthy control age and sex matched included as a control group; complete history taking, thorough clinical examination and complete blood count (CBC) were done for all subjects. Results: This study showed significant higher platelet count, mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW) and platelet crit ratio (PCT) in overweight and obese than the control, while there was insignificant difference between overweight and obese as regard these parameters except for mean platelet volume which was significantly higher in obese than overweight children. Conclusion: Overweight and Obesity in children are associated with increase in platelet count, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width and platelet crit ratio which may be due to a low grade of chronic inflammation.