Plasma apo/lipoproteins disturbances as a precondition for metabolic syndrome in HCV seronegative heroin addicts

Background: Dyslipidemia in heroin addicts is considered to be a precondition for developing metabolic syndrome. Objectives: The aim was to evaluate the frequency in serum lipid disturbances of hepatitis C virus (HCV) seronegative heroin addicts; the capacity of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-C and apolipoprotein B (apoB)/apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) for predicting hypertriglyceridemia/low HDL-C profile; correlation of HDL-C with the apoB/apoA-I and their correlation to plasma apo/lipoproteins. Materials and methods: Sixty-six heroin addicts, seronegative for HCV and HIV, without liver morphological changes were divided into two groups according to their decreased/normal HDL-C concentrations. Results: We registered decreased HDL-C in 58.8% of the addicts; decreased apoA-I in 50.9%, increased triglyceride (TGL) in 35.9%, and increased apoB/apoA-I in 3.8% of the patients; and 25.7% had hypertriglyceridemia/low HDL profile. Addicts with low HDL-C had higher TGL (1.73 ± .91 vs. 1.31 ± .71, pр = .02) compared w...