Evaluation of serum magnesium, lipid profile and various biochemical parameters as risk factors of cardiovascular diseases in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is chronic inflammatory disease, associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) than the general population. Chronic inflammatory conditions are likely to alter magnesium level and various biochemical parameters. To study the probable changes in serum magnesium, lipid profile and various biochemical parameters and to assess risk factors of CVD in newly diagnosed RA patients compared to controls. We studied 50 newly diagnosed RA adult patients and 50 healthy individuals as controls. Serum magnesium, calcium, lipid profile, uric acid and other biochemical parameters were measured in study subjects. Results were expressed as Mean ± SD and compared between RA subjects and controls by Independent sample t-test and Pearson correlation. We found decreased serum magnesium and calcium in RA subjects compared to the controls (p < 0.001). RA subjects had atherogenic lipid profile characterized by elevated total cholesterol (p = 0.054), LDL cholesterol (p = 0.008) and decreased HDL cholesterol (p <0.001). Serum uric acid was higher in RA cases compared to controls (p = 0.025). Serum magnesium was negatively correlated with total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and positively correlated with HDL cholesterol in RA cases. Decreased magnesium level, dyslipidemia and increased uric acid observed in our study together may be more potent risk factors for CVD in newly diagnosed RA subjects. We recommend that serum magnesium should be investigated as a part of cardiovascular risk management in RA. We suggest that decreased serum magnesium and increased serum uric acid may be considered as nontraditional risk factors of CVD in RA. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm the impact of inflammation on various biochemical parameters and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with RA.