Study of Serum Lipid Profile and Vitamin E in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Introduction: Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs but principally affects the joints. Our study aims to access serum lipid profile as well as atherogenic index – Total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol/HDL cholesterol among the RA patients and compare the results with that of control group and also to estimate Vitamin E levels in cases and compare it with controls. Methods: Fifty diagnosed cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis and thirty healthy age and sex matched individuals were included in this study. Serum triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol and Vitamin E were estimated in these groups. Results: Among cases the values of Vitamin E were significantly lower (0.25 ± 0.06 mg/dl ± SD) as compared to controls (1.12 ± 0.23 mg/dl ± SD). S. VLDL (30.09 ± 3.33 mg/dl ± SD) and S. LDL (220.96 ± 34.19 mg/dl ± SD) values were significantly higher among cases (18.57 ± 4.63 mg/dl ± SD, 36.2 ± 15.59 mg/dl ± SD respectively in controls). The value of S. HDL was found to be significantly lower (25.04 ± 6.27 mg/dl ± SD) in cases as compared to controls (58.83 ± 11.43 mg/dl ± SD). Among cases values of Total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol (11.78 ± 3.47) and LDL cholesterol/HDL cholesterol (9.48 ± 3.18) were also higher than controls (1.99 ± 0.42, 0.66 ± 0.37 respectively). Conclusion: These findings strongly confirmed that patients with RA have significantly lower values of vitamin E and HDL compared to controls while higher values of other parameters of lipid profile and higher atherogenic indices.