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Preparation of Washed Human Platelets for Quantitative Metabolic Flux Studies
Published on: January 10, 2025
Platelet count and total and cause-specific mortality in the Women's Health Initiative
Geoffrey C Kabat1, Mimi Y Kim1, Amit K Verma2
1Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
Insights
Both low and high platelet counts are linked to increased total mortality and cause-specific mortality in postmenopausal women. This finding highlights the importance of platelet levels in overall health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Oncology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Platelet count is a common hematological parameter.
- Understanding its association with mortality is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between platelet count and mortality in postmenopausal women.
- Examined associations with total mortality, coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality, cancer mortality, and non-CHD/noncancer mortality.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 159,746 postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative.
- Platelet counts measured at baseline and year 3.
- Cox proportional hazards models analyzed mortality risks across platelet count deciles.
Main Results:
- Both low and high platelet counts were significantly associated with increased total mortality.
- Elevated risks observed for CHD mortality, cancer mortality, and non-CHD/noncancer mortality.
- Associations remained robust across smoking statuses and after adjusting for confounders.
Conclusions:
- In postmenopausal women, extreme platelet counts (both low and high) are linked to higher total and cause-specific mortality.
- Platelet count serves as a potential indicator for mortality risk.
Purpose:
We used data from the Women's Health Initiative to examine the association of platelet count with total mortality, coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality, cancer mortality, and non-CHD/noncancer mortality.
Methods:
Platelet count was measured at baseline in 159,746 postmenopausal women and again in year 3 in 75,339 participants. Participants were followed for a median of 15.9 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the relative mortality hazards associated with deciles of baseline platelet count and of the mean of baseline + year 3 platelet count.
Results:
Low and high deciles of both baseline and mean platelet count were positively associated with total mortality, CHD mortality, cancer mortality, and non-CHD/noncancer mortality. The association was robust and was not affected by adjustment for a number of potential confounding factors, exclusion of women with comorbidity, or allowance for reverse causality. Low- and high-platelet counts were associated with all four outcomes in never smokers, former smokers, and current smokers.
Conclusions:
In this large study of postmenopausal women, both low- and high-platelet counts were associated with total and cause-specific mortality.
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