Vitamin D Status and Its Relationship with Platelet Parameters in Young Adults: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study

Recently, there has been growing interest in the roles of vitamin D and certain platelet characteristics, such as mean platelet volume (MPV). However, the influence of vitamin D levels on these platelet traits is still under discussion. The available research on the relationship between vitamin D levels and platelet parameters, including MPV, Platelet Distribution Width (PDW), Platelet Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR), and Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), is currently limited. The objective of our study was to examine the association between vitamin D levels and platelet parameters in apparently healthy individuals.

In this study, we evaluated vitamin D levels alongside complete blood count parameters in patients presenting to family medicine polyclinics with non-specific complaints such as fatigue and generalized weakness. Eligible participants were aged 18-28 years and had no history of chronic disease, regular medication use, or pregnancy. From an initial cohort, 877 participants met the inclusion criteria. Individuals with vitamin D levels exceeding 150 ng/mL were excluded. The remaining participants were stratified into three groups according to their serum vitamin D concentrations: 30-150 ng/mL, 20-30 ng/mL, and <20 ng/mL.

When the vitamin D groups were evaluated in terms of MPV, PDW, PLR, and NLR, no significant difference was found (p = 0.112, p = 0.236, p = 0.223, and p = 0.249, respectively). Additionally, when using the Spearman correlation test, we did not observe any significant correlation between vitamin D and the other inflammatory biomarkers examined in our study (p>0.05). Furthermore, after gender adjustment, we found that the correlation between vitamin D and other biomarkers investigated in our study was not significant (p>0.05).

The absence of significant association observed in this young, ostensibly healthy cohort suggests that the potential immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D may not translate into measurable changes in standard platelet parameters in the absence of significant inflammatory or metabolic pathology. This observation aligns with the concept that vitamin D's impact on hematological indices might be context- dependent, becoming more pronounced in states of chronic disease, heightened inflammation, or advanced age.

It can be concluded stating that, no significant effect of vitamin D levels on MPV, PDW, PLR, and NLR parameters was observed. However, the sample size for this research was limited. To better understand the relationship between vitamin D levels and platelet parameters, larger and prospective cohort studies are required.