Homocysteine and hematological indices in hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Objectives: To explore the relationship between homocysteine and various hematological indices in hemodialysis patients. Patients and Methods: This case-control study comprised 60 hemodialysis patients and 60 healthy controls matched for gender and age. Hemodialysis duration was 3.2±2.9 year at frequency of 2.6±0.6/week. Hypertension and diabetes were the most common self-reported disorders among the hemodialysis patients. Results: Serum homocysteine was significantly higher in hemodialysis patients than in controls (50.8±9.7 vs. 13.1±3.7 μmol/l, P= 0.000). White blood cell (WBC) and platelet (PLT) counts were significantly higher in hemodialysis patients than in controls [(7.18±2.37 x109/L and 266.3±111.9 x109/L vs 5.95±1.37 x109/L and 222.0±54.1 x109/L) with P= 0.017 and P= 0.045, respectively]. In contrast, red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin, and hematocrit were significantly lower in hemodialysis patients (3.1±0.5 x1012/L, 8.9±1.5 gm/dl and 26.3±4.6%) than in controls (4.0±0.4 x1012/L, 12.8±1.6 gm/dl and 45.0±4.6%) with P= 0.000. Prothrombin time (PT) and international normalized ratio (INR) were significantly higher in hemodialysis patients compared to controls (16±3 sec and 1±0 vs. 14±0 sec and 1.0±0.1, P= 0.000), whereas activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) was significantly decreased in hemodialysis patients (25±5 vs 33±2 sec, P= 0.000). Homocysteine correlated directly with WBC count (r= 0.338, P= 0.008) and PLT count (r= 0.369, P= 0.000) whereas inverse correlations were found between homocysteine and RBC count (r=-0.648, P= 0.000), hemoglobin (r=-0.733, P= 0.000) and hematocrit (r=-0.836 …