RESUMO
Objective To compare the lipoprotein(a) (Lp-a) and lipid metabolism level in rheumatoid arthritis(RA) patients and control group (healthy subjects),and evaluate the correlation between Lp-a levels and systemic inflammation in patients with RA.Methods Blood samples from 30 RA patients with positive rheumatoid factor and 30 healthy controls were collected,with same distribution of gender and age in both groups.Lipid metabolism level such as Lp-a,triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(TC),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C),very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) and inflammation markers such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α),interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C reactive protein (CRP) were detected and analyzed statistically.Results LP-a levels were higher in RA patients than that of control group(P＜0.001),HDL-C levels were lower in RA group (P＜0.05),while TC,TG,LDL-C and VLDL-C levels showed no difference (P＞0.05).The TNF-α、IL-6 and CRP levels of RA patients were higher than that of control group(P＜0.05),and the association between higher Lp-a level and TNF-α were confirmed (r=0.753,P＜0.001).Conclusions High levels of Lp-a are often observed in RA patients,and a rising Lp-a level are associated with systematic inflammation reaction.Lp-a may be a risk factor for RA progress.