Prevalence of dyslipidemias in autoimmune rheumatic diseases

To determine the frequency of dyslipidemias in various autoimmune rheumatic diseases and the difference in lipid profile according to the activity of these diseases.

Cross-sectional study.

The Rheumatology Department of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad, from May 2010 to April 2011.

All patients who presented to Rheumatology Department with various autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases were included. Fasting lipid profiles of patients were obtained after an overnight fast of 12 hours. Various diseases were classified as active or inactive on the basis of clinical features and relevant laboratory tests. Data were entered in SPSS 17 and analyzed. Association between disease activity and abnormal lipid profile was also determined.

A total of 100 patients were included in the study. Out of these, 82% were females. Mean age was 34.15 ± 7.73 years. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was the most common disease present in 78 patients. Various types of dyslipidemias were found in 54% of patients. Low HDL and deranged cholesterol levels were significantly associated with active disease (p = 0.044 and p = 0.048 respectively). Patients with RA also had dyslipidemias in 45% of the cases. Disturbed cholesterol level was observed in active RA (p = 0.044).

Dyslipidemias are frequent among the patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AIRD). Disturbance in total cholesterol is the most common abnormality with a significant association with disease activity.