Lipid Profile Pattern in Patients with Different Disease Conditions in Kano, Northwest, Nigeria

Abstract

Lipid profile assay has become a prominent test menu in most Chemical Pathology laboratories in Sub- Saharan Africa. This is due to the well-established fact of the implication of lipid abnormalities in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). There is paucity of data on the pattern of lipid and lipoprotein values in Kano and environs. The subjects were made up of 1472 patients attending Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano with various disease conditions and 100 apparently healthy controls. Seven hundred and twenty-two (722) of the patients were males while 750 were females. The study was retrospective evaluating lipid results on various diseases in patients attending AKTH, Kano that required investigations. Lipid and lipoprotein levels were determined using routine standard laboratory techniques. Mean values of all the analytes except HDL-C were significantly higher (p<0.05) in patient group than the controls. The frequency of hypercholesterolaemia was higher in patients with nephrotic syndrome while that of hypertryglyceridaemia was found to be higher in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Combined hyperlipidaemia was higher in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). The atherogenic index using TC/HDL-C reveals higher risk in patients with liver diseases while TG/HDL-C reveals higher risk in patients with CKD. Lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities are common in the patients evaluated in the current study. The assay of lipid profile on routine basis in patients at risk of developing cardiovascular complications is strongly suggested in this environment. The use of TG/HDL-C ratio as indicator of atherogenicity is recommended.