Lipid profile dysregulation in opium users based on Fasa PERSIAN cohort study results

Abstract

One of the main health problems in many societies is the increased opium abuse, which was found to be correlated with many problems like cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation of opium use with blood lipoproteins as the risk factor of CVD. This was a cross-sectional study conducted on participants of the first phase of the PERSIAN Cohort study who were aged between 35 and 70 years old. Demographic characteristics; history of smoking, alcohol, and opium consumption; medical history; and medications were asked and the related checklists were filled out. The levels of physical activity and fat intake were also registered. As well, lipoprotein profiles were investigated by blood sampling. The linear and logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between opium and lipid profile and the statistical significant level was considered as < 0.05. Among 9300 participants with a mean age of 48.06 ± 9.44 years old, 49.6% of them were men. About 24.1% of the participants used opium. In the linear regression models, unlike TG (β = 2.2, p = 0.36), total cholesterol (β = − 2.5, p = 0.02), LDL (β = − 2.0, p = 0.04), and HDL (β = − 1.0, p = 0.04) were significantly lower in people who used opium compared to the others. In the logistic regression models, abnormal level of LDL (OR = 0.78, p = 0.003) and total cholesterol (OR = 0.82, p = 0.008) were less in people who used opium compared to the others. This study showed that there is a correlation between opium usage and lower levels of total cholesterol and LDL; however, the lower level of HDL in normal range was seen in opium users. Considering the current evidences, most of them showed the increased risks of ischemic heart disease, heart attack, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, and cancer in opium users. Therefore, Healthcare providers and patients should be noticed about the deleterious effects of opium consumption on various vascular events. In addition, it is necessary for managers and policy makers of the health care system to take the necessary measures to raise the level of awareness and health literacy of the general public about the high-risk side effects of opium use and to take necessary and effective strategies to prevent and reduce its use.

Relationship between opium consumption and lipid profile in drug addicts and non-addicts on Kharameh cohort study

“…The ndings of our study showed that the prevalence of opium use is 16%, which is more than the study of Fallahzadeh et al (19) and in line with the results of the cohort studies conducted in the north (10) and lower than south of Iran (20).…”

“…In other studies, the role of ethanol in increasing triglyceride levels has been mentioned, so that in a clinical trial study that was conducted on healthy people and people with hypertriglyceridemia, it was shown that people who drank moderate amounts of ethanol three times a day, saw their plasma triglyceride levels increase signi cantly (40), which is in line with the results of our study. It has been mentioned in other studies that alcohol increases triglyceride levels (20,41). Previous studies in line with this study have shown that triglycerides are signi cantly higher in obese people (20,42).…”

“…It has been mentioned in other studies that alcohol increases triglyceride levels (20,41). Previous studies in line with this study have shown that triglycerides are signi cantly higher in obese people (20,42). In our study, age was shown as a protective factor for triglyceride levels, in contrast to other studies, which have shown that age plays a role as a risk factor and causes an increase in triglyceride levels (43,44).…”

“…Age raises cholesterol in some studies ( 21), but lowers it in others (51)(52)(53). In some studies, age increases cholesterol (20) and in others it decreases (46-48). In these studies, it has been shown that cholesterol increases in men up to the age of 65 and in women up to the age of 75 and then decreases (47,49,50).…”

“…Triglycerides above 150 mg/dL are considered high and abnormal triglycerides, and total cholesterol above 200 mg/dL is considered high cholesterol. Furthermore, LDL levels greater than 130 mg/dL are considered high, while HDL levels less than 40 for men and less than 50 for women are considered low HDL (20,55).…”