Serum lipids in chronic viral hepatitis B patients in Makurdi, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: One of the major causes of liver disease in the world is hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The liver as a homeostatic organ plays a pivotal role in maintaining the relative balance of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism in the body. Aim: The study aimed at determining the impact of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) disease on serum lipids and the effect of the stages of this disease on lipid pattern in infected patients. Methodology: The study involved the selection of 70 CHB patients attending clinic at a Tertiary Hospital in Makurdi, Nigeria. After fulfilling the inclusion criteria, 65 anthropometrically matched apparently healthy individuals were selected as control to the CHB group. CHB is defined in the study as persistent infection evidenced by seropositivity for hepatitis B surface antigen without remission for up to 1-year. Results: There was a significantly reduced (P = 0.001) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and raised (P = 0.044) low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in chronic HBV compared to seronegative controls. There was a significantly lowered HDL-C (P = 0.017), very LDL-C (P = 0.005), and triglyceride (P = 0.034) in asymptomatic CHB compared to the matched controls. There was a significantly lowered total cholesterol (P = 0.019) and HDL-C (P = 0.017) in symptomatic CHB compared to the matched controls. Conclusion: Lowered serum lipids are associated with CHB disease and likely to be mediated altered liver metabolism. However, reasons for the low levels of lipids in this viral disease still remains unclear.

Keywords

• Cholesterol
• chronic hepatitis B
• lipids
• lipoproteins