Comparison of Blood Cells Parameters and Complete Blood Count in Diabetic Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

Background and Aim: Diabetes is a type of metabolic disorder characterized by increased blood glucose, which is due to insulin resistance, insulin deficiency, or both. Changes in blood cell parameters in diabetes are controversial. The present study aimed to assess the blood cell parameters in diabetic patients compared to healthy individuals.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 540 cases (270 diabetic patients and 270 healthy individuals) over 20 years old who were referred to the clinics affiliated to Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran, in 2018. The complete blood count (CBC) parameters were assessed in both groups, and demographic information was also collected via questionnaires. All the analyses were performed in SPSS software (version 22).

Results: In terms of gender, the majority of participants (61.2%) were female. The white blood cell (WBC) count in diabetic patients was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.001), and the hemoglobin (HGB) level was significantly lower in diabetic patients (P=0.009). There was no significant difference in the level of other indices between diabetic and control groups. There was a significant difference between the gender of diabetic patients in HGB, red blood cell (RBC) count, and platelets (PLT) (P<0.001). Moreover, HBG and RBC were less in patients with longer diabetes duration (P<0.001).

Conclusion: The obtained results pointed to a statistically significant difference in some hematological parameters of diabetic patients compared to non-diabetic individuals. More studies are needed to clarify the causal relationship between diabetes and these indices.