Higher platelet counts are associated with metabolic syndrome independent of fatty liver diagnosis.

Background: Platelet count (PC) and fatty liver are both associated with metabolic syndrome (MS), obesity, and type 2 diabetes. While PC increases in obesity and type 2 diabetes, the severity of hepatic fibrosis caused by fatty liver reduces PC. We aimed to investigate the correlation of PC and MS in patients with and without fatty liver.

Methods: We enrolled consecutive patients who received health check-ups at Taipei Veterans General Hospital from 2002 to 2009. Ultrasonography was used to diagnose fatty liver, and MS was diagnosed according to the criteria defined by the International Diabetes Federation Task Force on Epidemiology and Prevention.

Results: Among the 29,797 patients, MS was present in 28.74%. Higher PC was correlated with MS using multivariate analysis, while fatty liver had the strongest association with MS. After dividing the patients by the presence or absence of fatty liver, higher PC was still associated with MS in both groups. The patients were further stratified by age and gender, and MS was correlated with PC among all age groups in women and in men under 60 years of age; however, the association between PC and MS did not reach statistical difference in men older than 60 years.

Conclusion: There is a significant correlation between PC and MS, and the correlation exists independent of gender, age, and fatty liver. PC may act as a surrogate marker for MS, and physicians should be concerned with the presence of MS among patients with high PC.