title: Serum lipid level in Tunisian patients with psoriasis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disorder that has been associated with oxidative stress, abnormal plasma lipid metabolism, and high frequency of cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to determine lipid profile variations in Tunisian psoriatic patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was designed and conducted as a case-control assay with 91 psoriatic patients and 91 controls. The lipid profiles, including serum level of triglycerides, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), were assessed in both groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The two groups consisted of 91 patients and 91 controls, each with 45 males and 46 females. In the psoriatic group, serum triglycerides, low density lipoprotein, and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.05), while the high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) was significantly decreased in patients with psoriasis compared to controls (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences concerning insulin or insulin resistance and total cholesterol between the two groups. The insulin secretion was significantly higher in patients with psoriasis than in the control group (p = 0.003). However, there was no significant correlation between severity of psoriasis and serum lipid and insulin secretion. A negative correlation (r = -0.253, p = 0.019) was found between PASI index and HDL-C.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A high serum lipid level is significantly more common in psoriatic patients. This could be responsible for higher prevalence of cardiovascular incidents in psoriatic patients. It may be useful to do early screening and treatment of hyperlipidaemia in psoriatic patients to prevent atherosclerosis and its complications.
authors.forename: Monia Allal
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: El Asmi
authors.forename: Wiem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zidi
authors.forename: Amel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mebazaa
authors.forename: Yosra
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zayani
authors.forename: Imen
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ayadi
authors.forename: Moncef
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feki
authors.forename: Amel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ben Osman
authors.forename: Naziha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaabachi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D008055:Lipids