ABSTRACT
Objective: the present study was conducted to assess lipid and lipoprotein levels in opium [50 subjects] and heroin-addicted men [50 subjects] against non-opium and non-heroin addicted men [25 healthy individuals] as control subjects from Punjabi population
Material and Methods: the biochemical estimations: total lipids, total lipids, TC, TGs, HDL, LDL, VLDL and Chylomicron levels were carried out on fully automatic clinical chemistry analyzer on 12hour fasting blood samples. The variables for each group were presented as means+/- standard deviations. Results were considered statistically significant if p
Results: our study concluded that the cholesterol, triglyceride and Very Low Density Lipoprotein levels were higher in opium addicts than heroin addicts. Total lipid levels were decreased significantly in heroin addicts as compared to control subjects. However, no significant difference in High Density Lipoprotein and Chylomicron levels was noted in heroin and opium addicts in comparison to controls
Conclusion: it may therefore be suggested that opium addicts are at higher risk to develop atherosclerosis leading to ischemic heart disease than heroin addicts