Correlation between elevated serum bilirubin levels and coronary artery disease risk - An institutional study

Abstract

Background and objectives. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major public health problem resulting in profound morbidity and mortality. Recent research studies have suggested that bilirubin may play a role in preventing coronary artery disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between increased levels of bilirubin in the blood and risk for developing coronary artery disease (CAD). Material and methods. For the course of this study, an observational method was used where 30 participants were enrolled from our department’s general medicine unit. We collected demographic data and patient’s medical history. Moreover, we carried out complete blood count to measure serum levels of bilirubin such as total, direct and indirect, lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP). Several statistical analyses were done to find out whether there is any relation between blood bilirubin levels and CAD related risk factors. Results. The current findings showed average serum concentration for bilirubin at 1.5 ± 0.5 mg/dL. In this regard, hypertension was prevalent among 40% of respondents while diabetes took up 20%. This present study indicates that there is strong negative relationship between cardiovascular risks indicator blood-bilirubins. Conclusion. Consequently, this study produces great proof that shows strong support for a negative relationship between the levels of bilirubin in the blood and the likelihood of getting affected by coronary arteries. This might be due to different roles played by bilirubin such as being an antioxidant and having anti-inflammatory properties. These findings suggest that there is a need for more investigations into bilirubin as its importance as a potential biomarker for assessing and mitigating cardiovascular risk has been highlighted.

Keywords

• serum bilirubin
• coronary artery disease
• cardiovascular risk factors
• antioxidative properties
• inflammatory markers