ArticlePloS one2013
Age- and sex-related variations in platelet count in Italy: a proposal of reference ranges based on 40987 subjects' data.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 124 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
124 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Platelet-To-Lymphocyte Ratio Efficiency in Predicting Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Acute Coronary Syndromes: A Meta-Analysis.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Hematological parameters' reference intervals in apparently healthy individuals in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- The effect of in-hospital acquired thrombocytopenia on the outcome of patients with acute coronary syndromes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Thrombosis research · 2016Pooled it
- Trial
- Basic Coagulation Parameters among Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Adults in Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study.BioMed research international · 2018Trial
- Proteomics of apheresis platelet supernatants during routine storage: Gender-related differences.Journal of proteomics · 2015Trial
- Platelet Reactivity and Sex Differences: Clinical Implications for Women.Circulation research · 2026Review
- Age- and sex- related patterns in hematobiochemical and anthropometric parameters of Macaca monkeys.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Age-Associated Variations in Complete Blood Cell Count Parameters and Derived Indices Among Community-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults.Journal of clinical laboratory analysis · 2026Article
- Evaluation of the platelet-to-white-cell ratio (PWR) as predictor of long-term all-cause mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Variables influencing theHaematologica · 2026Article
- Platelet to lymphocyte ratio in the healthy population of Vojvodina.Journal of medical biochemistry · 2026Article
- Predictors of Hepatic Steatosis and the Limitations of the FIB-4 Index in Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2026Article
- A Machine Learning Approach to Reference Interval Estimation for Red Cell Parameters in a South and East Asian Population.Annals of laboratory medicine · 2026Article
- Sex differences in classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia: a multicenter, real-world analysis.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Association between patient signalment and platelet function parameters in cats.The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne · 2025Article
- Article
- Influence of age and sex on platelet count: Implications for optimizing growth factor-rich plasma preparation.Journal of clinical and experimental dentistry · 2025Review
- Pseudothrombocytopenia and other conditions associated with spuriously low platelet counts.Haematologica · 2025Review
- Roadmap for alleviating the manifestations of ageing in the cardiovascular system.Nature reviews. Cardiology · 2025Review
64 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
22 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesAlthough several studies demonstrated that platelet count is higher in women, decreases with age, and is influenced by genetic background, most clinical laboratories still use the reference interval 150-400×10(9) platelets/L for all subjects. The present study was to identify age- and sex-specific reference intervals for platelet count.
methodsWe analysed electronic records of subjects enrolled in three population-based studies that investigated inhabitants of seven Italian areas including six geographic isolates. After exclusion of patients with malignancies, liver diseases, or inherited thrombocytopenias, which could affect platelet count, reference intervals were estimated from 40,987 subjects with the non parametric method computing the 2.5° and 97.5° percentiles.
resultsPlatelet count was similar in men and women until the age of 14, but subsequently women had steadily more platelets than men. The number of platelets decreases quickly in childhood, stabilizes in adulthood, and further decreases in oldness. The final result of this phenomenon is that platelet count in old age was reduced by 35% in men and by 25% in women compared with early infancy. Based on these findings, we estimated reference intervals for platelet count ×10(9)/L in children (176-452), adult men (141-362), adult women (156-405), old men (122-350) and, old women (140-379). Moreover, we calculated an "extended" reference interval that takes into account the differences in platelet count observed in different geographic areas.
conclusionsThe age-, sex-, and origin-related variability of platelet count is very wide, and the patient-adapted reference intervals we propose change the thresholds for diagnosing both thrombocytopenia and thrombocytosis in Italy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.