Lipoprotein Profile in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India

Context: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death world over. COPD has been defined as a disease state characterized by airflow limitation. Spirometric tests like Forced Expiratory Volume in first second (FEV1) < 80% and FEV1 /FVC (ratio of Forced Expiratory Volume in first second to the Fixed Vital Capacity) 0.7 is the diagnostic criteria for COPD. In COPD smoking is the major risk factor and smoking affects the lipid profile of COPD patients. Aims: To investigate the levels of total cholesterol (TCH), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoproteins (LDL), very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), high density lipoproteins (HDL) and correlating FEV1 and FEV1 /FVC ratio with lipid profile. Settings and Design: A prospective cross-sectional case control study. Methods and Materials: Fifty cases were selected on the basis of simple random sampling method. The FEV1, FEV1/FVC ratio and various lipoprotein levels like total cholesterol (TCH), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoproteins (LDL), very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), high density lipoproteins (HDL) were studied and a group of 20 non-smoker healthy subjects were selected as controls. FEV1, FEV1 /FVC ratio were correlated with lipid profile. Statistical Analysis: Comparison of various parameters were performed by "t" test, correlation between two variables were performed by Pearson's correlation co-efficient "r" Results: Majority of the patients had moderate (50%) and severe (42%) airflow limitation. Mean LDL concentration among cases was 114.89 +/- 19.61(mg/dl) as against control group who had mean LDL concentration of 96.22 +/- 19.96(mg/dl), which was statistically significant (p-value < 0.05). However no significant difference in LDL, HDL and in triglycerides levels were observed. Conclusion: Smoking significantly affects the lipid profile in COPD patients.