Background: Altered platelet morphology and function have been reported in patients with diabetes mellitus. They are likely to be associated with the pathological processes and increased risk of vascular disease seen in these patients. We aimed to determine the mean platelet volume (MPV) in diabetics compared to nonediabetics, to see if there is a difference in MPV between diabetics with and without macro and microvascular complications, and to determine the correlation between MPVand fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), patient age, and duration of diabetes, respectively.
Methods: We measured MPV in 100 consecutive Type 2 diabetic patients and 50 non diabetic control subjects without known coronary artery disease who had complete blood count, FBG, HbA1c, serum creatinine and ALB/Creat ratio. Statistical evaluation was performed by SPSS for Windows statistics programme using multivariate logistical regression analysis.
Results: MPV was significantly higher in diabetics compared to age- and sex-matched nonediabetic healthy controls, significantly higher with complicated DM compared to none complicated DM, and significantly higher with poor glycemic control compared to good glycemic control. 
Conclusions: Our results show significantly higher MPV in diabetic patients than in the nonediabetic controls. This suggests that platelets may play a role in the micro and macrovascular complications of diabetic patients.