Different Reticulocyte Volume in Diabetes Mellitus Patients with and without Hypercholesterolemia and/or Hypertriglyceridemia

• Main Authors: Porntip Bunyaratvej, Surat Komindr, Raewadee Wisedpanichkij
• Other Authors: Mahidol University
• Format: Article
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Medicine
• Online Access: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/26210

Red cells and reticulocytes from patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) were analysed using laser and computer technology of H*3 hematology analyzer. Four groups of diabetes mellitus patients: diabetes with normolipemia (DM) (n=12) and DM patients with excess triglyceride (DM-T) (n=7) or cholesterol (DM-C) (n=21) or both (DM-TC) (n=21) were studied. Mean corpuscular volume of mature red cells (Mean±SD = 93.6±5.5 fl) and reticulocyte (119.1± 12.3 fl) of patients with DM-T was not significantly increased from normal (red cell, 90.0± 3.5 fl; reticulocyte, 115.2±7.3 fl). Plasma triglyceride levels had no significant correlation with red cell MCV, reticulocyte MCV and %Hb A1c. This suggests that high triglyceride levels in DM are not dose-dependent in producing increased MCV of red cells and reticulocytes. Comparing between DM-T and DM-C, red cells and reticulocytes from DM-C patients had significantly decreased MCV (red cell, 85.5±6.1 fL; reticulocyte, 103.8±7.4 fL). Plasma cholesterol levels were inversely correlated with MCV of red cells (r=-0.377, p=0.003) and also MCV of reticulocytes (r=-0.418, p=0.001). In addition, cholesterol levels showed considerable correlation with Hb A1c (r=0.572, p=0.004). The red cell volume change in DM-C patients may be partly due to the shift in balance of cholesterol exchange between red cell membranes and serum lipoproteins.