CORRELATIVE STUDY BETWEEN LIPID PROFILE AND DISEASE ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS ? A HOSPITAL BASED STUDY.

Objective: To study the serum lipid profile, disease activity and their correlation in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Materials and methods: The study was carried out on 50 diagnosed patients of RA in the Department of Biochemistry, Assam Medical College and hospital, Dibrugarh. 50 apparently age and sex matched individuals were taken as controls. Fasting lipid profile (Total cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c, Triglyceride) was estimated in semiautoanalyser using standard method. Disease activity was assessed by DAS28 ESR score. Results: Serum total cholesterol (TC) and HDL-c were significantly lower in cases than controls (p<0.05 and p<0.01 respectively). Patients with active disease had significantly lower level of TC and HDL -c than those in remission. Triglyceride levels was significantly higher in cases than controls (p<0.05). Conclusion: Study reveals that the lipid profile is altered in Rheumatoid arthritis characterized by low TC, HDL and elevated triglycerides. Further in active cases the mean serum level of total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol were significantly lower than cases in remission. A significant negative correlation was seen between HDLc and DAS28.