Serum Lipid Profile in Reproductive Age Women in Abakaliki, South-East Nigeria

Author(s):

Anthony T Agbata*, Azubuike K Onyebuchi, Chukwuemeka I Ukaegbe and Chukwuemeka I Ukaegbe

Background: Parity has been associated with changes in serum lipid concentrations. This may have implications for cardiovascular health of women. Aims: The objective of the study was to evaluate atherogenic risk in a sample of reproductive age women in Abakaliki, southeast Nigeria, using lipid ratios like the Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP), Castelli’s Risk Index (CRI) and Atherogenic coefficient (AC). Subjects and Methods: This questionnaire based survey was conducted in one of the federal tertiary hospital in southeast Nigeria. Sampling was by non-probability purposive sampling technique. Study participants were drawn from women who had come for gynecological consultation, between December 1st 2014 and October 31th 2015. They were arbitrary classified into four groups based on their parity. The survey instrument was administered to the participants after obtaining an informed consent, and blood samples were drawn and analyzed for HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol. Atherogenic risk ratios were derived from these lipid parameters and analyzed for statistical differences. Data analysis was by descriptive and inferential statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 24.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Results: The age of the women ranged from 17 to 65 years with a mean age of 32.9 (8.6) years. The lipid ratios were significantly different among the groups, especially for the AIP, CRI-I and II (p-values 0.03; 0.02; 0.02 respectively). Bonferroni Multiple Comparison Test demonstrated higher lipid ratios for low parity (para 1 and 2) than the nulliparous (CRI-I; 3.27 ± .196 vs. 4.354 ± 0.277and CRI-II; 1.791 ± 0.178 vs. 2.655 ± 0.251). Conclusion: The study demonstrated a higher atherogenic risk for low parity than the nulliparous.