Platelet Parameters in First-Episode Patients with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Measurement of platelet parameters, especially mean platelet volume (MPV), in mental disorders has been gaining importance. MPV is an indicator of platelet activity, and increased MPV is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular diseases and associated mortality are more common in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) than in the general population. We aimed to evaluate platelet parameters, including MPV, platelet count (PLT), platelet distribution volume (PDW), and plateletcrit (PCT) level, in first-episode patients with SZ and BD before disease progression and the effect of antipsychotic drugs caused changes in their lives.

In this retrospective cohort study, we compared the platelet parameters in 72 patients with SZ at the time of their first psychotic episode and 63 patients with BD at the time of their first manic episode with 64 healthy controls.

SZ group had significantly lower MPV and PCT values than the control group (P = .003 and P = .03, respectively). BD group had significantly lower MPV and PCT values than the control group (P = .001 and P = .02, respectively).

This is the first study to compare the platelet parameters between first-episode patients with SZ and BD and healthy controls. Although a few studies have reported an increase or decrease in platelet parameters in SZ and BD, our results are valuable in terms of evaluating platelet parameters in first-episode patients who have not started drugs.