Serum lipid profile and hepatic steatosis of adult beta-thalassaemia patients with chronic HCV infection.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum lipid profile and to assess the prevalence of hepatic steatosis in adult beta-thalassaemic patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.


METHODS
Thirty-five adult HCV infected, multi-transfused, beta-thalassaemia patients (beta-HCV patients), 63 otherwise normal patients with chronic HCV infection (HCV patients) and 54 beta-thalassaemia patients without chronic viral hepatitis (beta patients) were studied. Total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides, viral markers and liver histology were evaluated.


RESULTS
Serum total cholesterol, HDL-C and LDL-C were found at significantly lower levels in beta-HCV and beta patients than in HCV patients. Triglyceride levels were significantly lower in the HCV group compared with the beta group. Nine (25.7%) of the 35 beta-HCV patients had mild hepatic steatosis. Thirteen (23.6%) of 55 HCV patients presented mild and 4/55 (7.3%) moderate hepatic steatosis. None of the beta group presented steatosis. When we compared beta-HCV and HCV patients with steatosis, we found that beta-HCV patients had a lower degree of steatosis (11.1+/-7% vs 22.9+/-17.2%, P=0.021). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the only independent predictor associated with hepatic steatosis in beta-HCV and HCV patients was genotype 3a (OR, 3.61; 95% CI, 1.22-10.71, P=0.021).


CONCLUSIONS
Adult beta-thalassaemia patients, compared to other patients with chronic HCV infection, present lower cholesterol levels (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL) and similar frequency but a lower degree of hepatic steatosis. This difference in the degree of steatosis is most likely due to the higher prevalence of genotype 3a in the non-beta-thalassaemia group.
Siagris
Dimitrios
D
Department of Internal Medicine, Patras University Hospital, Greece. dsiagris@mland.gr
Kouraklis-Symeonidis
Alexandra
A
Christofidou
Myrto
M
Lekkou
Alexandra
A
Papadimitriou
Christos
C
Arvaniti
Vassiliki
V
Thomopoulos
Konstantinos
K
Tsamandas
Athanasios
A
Zoumbos
Nicholas
N
Labropoulou-Karatza
Chryssoyla
C
D000328:Adult; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics
D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol