Evaluation of Lipids And Lipoprotein Levels In Opium And Heroin Addicts In Punjabi Population

Abstract

Objective: The present study was conducted to assess lipid and lipoprotein levels in opium (50
subjects) and heroin-addicted men (50 subjects) against non-opium and non-heroin addicted
men (25 healthy individuals) as control subjects from Punjabi population.
Material and Methods: The biochemical estimations: total lipids, total lipids, TC, TGs, HDL,
LDL, VLDL and Chylomicron levels were carried out on fully automatic clinical chemistry analyzer
on 12hour fasting blood samples. The variables for each group were presented as means±
standard deviations. Results were considered statistically significant if p ≤ 0.05 for the
biochemical parameters.
Results: Our study concluded that the cholesterol, triglyceride and Very Low Density Lipoprotein
levels were higher in opium addicts than heroin addicts. Total lipid levels were decreased
significantly in heroin addicts as compared to control subjects. However, no significant difference
in High Density Lipoprotein and Chylomicron levels was noted in heroin and opium addicts in
comparison to controls.
Conclusion: It may therefore be suggested that opium addicts are at higher risk to develop
atherosclerosis leading to Ischemic heart disease than heroin addicts.