Assessment of Lipid Dysfunction of Patients Under Haemodialysis in Cameroon

Dyslipidaemia is a major risk factor of cardiovascular disease of patients under haemodialysis. Both increase and decrease of cholesterol levels are associated with higher cardiovascular mortality rate in haemodialysis patients. The objective of this study was to assess the lipid dysfunction among patients maintained under haemodialysis in two reference centres of haemodialysis in Cameroon. A descriptive comparative study was carried out in Nephrology Unit of the University Teaching Hospital of Yaoundé and the same Unit of the Douala General Hospital, Cameroon. A total of 160 subjects were studied: Of these, there were 80 patients under haemodialysis and 80 healthy controls. Body mass index (BMI) was measured according to WHO’s guidelines. Serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were assayed before and after haemodialysis session. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated using Friedwald’s equation. Their cardiovascular risk indices (TC / HDL-C) were also determined. Patients under haemodialysis had significantly lower BMI as compared with the healthy controls (p < 0.05). Total Cholesterol, LDL-C and HDL-C were considerably lower before and after haemodialysis compared with the healthy controls (p ˂ 0.05). A non-significant difference was found between Triglycerides before and after haemodialysis in contrast with the healthy controls (p > 0.05). The cardiovascular risk indices (TC / HDL-C) of the patients under haemodialysis were higher than those of the healthy control group. Patients under haemodialysis had quite low BMI, total Cholesterol, LDL-C and HDL-C depicting malnutrition leading to inflammation, accelerated atherosclerosis process and cardiovascular complications.