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Objective: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurologically-based developmental disorder which appears in childhood. Mean platelet volume (MPV), the correct measure of platelet size, has been regarded a marker and determinant of platelet function. Aim of the present study is to research MPV in children with ASD and healthy subjects. It was hypothesized that children with ASD have increased MPV levels, compared to healthy controls.
Methods: Forty-nine drug naive children with ASD, aged 1–15, who were admitted to the child and adolescent psychiatry department at Mersin University and diagnosed with ASD according to the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition) criteria were included in this study. Eighty-seven mentally and physically healthy subjects were enrolled as a control group. The MPV were measured in children with ASD, and compared with healthy controls. Measures of MPV in the children with ASD and the control subjects were compared by using independent sample t-test and Mann Whitney U test. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. All statistical analyses were conducted on SPSS version 11.5.
Results: There was no significant difference in age of the children between the ASD group (mean: 4.9±3.1) and the normal control group (mean: 5.9±2.9). The ASD group consisted of 13 girls and 36 boys and the control group included 39girls and 48 boys. No significant difference was found in the girls/boys ratio between the two groups (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in MPV (p=0.422) between the groups (p>0.05)
Conclusion: Evidence from clinic based studies and nationally representative surveys suggests that children with developmental disabilities, including with ASD, have a prevalence of obesity at least as high as, if not higher than, their typically developing peers. Obesity in children carries a wide range of serious complications and contributes to an increased prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in very early pediatric age. Evidence has emerged from numerous large-scale studies indicating that elevated MPV is a cardiovascular risk factor. A large proportion of the increased mortality observed in schizophrenia is associated with an increase in cardiometabolic risk. A recent cross-sectional study showed raised MPV in patients with schizophrenia, particularly in patients exposed to atypical antipsychotics. However, our findings show no significant difference for drug-naive children with ASD.