ABSTRACT
Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases in which there are high blood sugar levels over a prolonged period, and if untreated could lead to complications. This study, carried out at the Igbinedion university teaching hospital Okada to ascertain some hematological parameters, using 69 known diabetes patients who enrolled as an Out-patient in the General Out-Patient Department and 69 non-diabetes apparently healthy individuals as control. Thirty-nine of thesediabetic individuals were female, while thirty were male individuals. For the non-diabetic individuals, thirty-seven were female, and thirty-two were male representing 53.6% and 46.4% respectively. Ethical approval from the institution was sought prior to commencement of study and quality control of reagents was strictly maintained. Five millilitres of whole blood was collected into an Ethylene Diamine Tetra-Acetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulated bottle, and haematological parameters including PCV, HB, WBC, RBC,MCV, MCH, MCHC and platelet count were conducted for all individuals. Result obtained for Diabetic individuals showed a mean value of 34.63, 11.24, 4.41, 7.20 and 204.27 for PCV, Hb, RBC, WBC and platelets counts respectively, while for non-diabetic individuals, a mean value of 35.04, 10.09, 3.99, 7.07 and 262.56 respectively.Hb concentration and RBC count were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The Red cell indices, MCV and MCHC, were statistically significant. This study showed a statistically significant variation in some hematological parameters of diabetic patients compared to control group .Low platelet count and alteration to red cell morphology as indicated in values of MCV and MCHC among diabetic patients are indicators of thrombotic potential. Hence, routine screening of hematological parameters should be considered for proper management of diabetic patients.