Mean Platelet Volume in Depression and Anxiety Disorder- a Hospital Based Case-control Study

Introduction: Depression and anxiety disorder are the common mental disorders. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) is a well-established neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS). It has a role in the anxiety, depression, appetite, motor, cognitive and autonomic functions, platelet aggregation and regulation of vascular tone. As the CNS is difficult to access, peripheral platelet models are widely used as the indicators of central 5-HT metabolism; moreover, they are known to reflect central serotonergic function. Mean platelet volume (MPV) is contemplated as the marker of platelet function. It is a measure of platelet size and a good indicator of platelet activity. In this backdrop the current study was carried out to evaluate the MPV in depression and anxiety disorders.

Methods: Consecutive 90 depressive disorder patients, 76 anxiety disorder patients, diagnosed according to DSM 5 criteria and 49 healthy control subjects were selected for the study. Hamilton rating scale for anxiety (HAM-A), Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAM-D), MPV and platelet count were measured in all subjects.

Results: It was revealed that MPV was more in patients with depression (9.73±1.23) and anxiety disorder (9.84±1.32) compared to the controls (8.773±0.44) and this difference was statistically significant (F=14.95, p<0.001). There was no statistical difference in the MPV values between the patients with depression and anxietydisorder. Negative correlation between MPV and platelet count was recorded.

Conclusion: This study suggests that increased MPV is associated with depression and anxiety disorders. Future research should be planned to investigate the effect of depression and anxiety disorders on MPV.