Comparative Evaluation of Whole Blood Clotting Time and Platelet Count among Post-Menopausal and Reproductive-Age Women in Elele, Nigeria

Abstract

Menopause represents a critical physiological transition in a woman's life, marked by significant hormonal changes. Platelets are small blood cells that play a crucial role in the process of haemostasis, which is the body's mechanism for stopping bleeding after an injury. This study is aimed at assessing whole blood clotting time and platelets count among post-menopausal women in Elele Community, Rivers State Nigeria. A total number of 46 subjects were used for the study; 26 of them were post-menopausal women and the remaining 20 were apparently healthy adult females (control) in child bearing age. Informed and oral consents were obtained from the subjects and confidentiality assured to them. Ethical approval was gotten from the authority of Madonna University Teaching Hospital. Approximately 5.0 mL of venous blood sample was taken from the antecubital vein. Determination of platelet count was by manual method using improved Neubauer ruled counting chamber and clotting time was determined by Lee-white method. The data was presented as mean ± standard deviation. The results of the study showed a significant difference (p<0.05) in the mean values of the clotting time for the post-menopausal women (5.88±1.18seconds), when compared to control (5.20 ± 0.70 seconds).There was also a significant difference (p<0.05) in the mean values of platelet count in the post-menopausal women (250.96 ± 52.50 × 109/l) when compared to control (185.30±25.25× 109/l). The results show that there was significant increase (p<0.05) in whole blood clotting time and platelet count among the post-menopausal women when compared with the control. This concludes that potential alteration in haemostasis and coagulation dynamics is associated with post-menopause.