Estimation of serum iron, serum lipids and serum liver enzymes in celiac disease patients of Saudi Arabia

Muhammad Ikram Ullah; Abdullah Alsrhani; Muhammad Atif; Irfan Shaukat; Shahid Hussain; Hasan Ejaz

doi:10.12669/pjms.38.8.6237

Estimation of serum iron, serum lipids and serum liver enzymes in celiac disease patients of Saudi Arabia

Pak J Med Sci. 2022 Nov-Dec;38(8):2101-2106. doi: 10.12669/pjms.38.8.6237.

Authors

Muhammad Ikram Ullah¹, Abdullah Alsrhani², Muhammad Atif³, Irfan Shaukat⁴, Shahid Hussain⁵, Hasan Ejaz⁶

Affiliations

¹ Muhammad Ikram Ullah, PhD, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Al Jouf 72388, Saudi Arabia.
² Abdullah Alsrhani, PhD, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Al Jouf 72388, Saudi Arabia.
³ Muhammad Atif, M.Phil, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Al Jouf 72388, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Irfan Shaukat, PhD. Department of Biochemistry University of Narowal, Pakistan.
⁵ Shahid Hussain, M.Sc. Department of Pathology & Lab Medicine, Immunopathology Unit, College of Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University Riyadh-11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Hasan Ejaz, PhD, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Al Jouf 72388, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the serum biochemical levels in celiac disease (CD) patients.

Methods: It was a cross-sectional study carried out on 70 subjects, including 40 patients with CD and 30 healthy controls. This study was conducted at Jouf University from November, 2020 to October, 2021. The collected blood specimens were used to perform serum iron, serum lipids, liver enzymes, and human tissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies (anti-HTTG). The hematological parameters including hematocrit and MCV were determined to establish the diagnosis of iron deficiency.

Results: Serum iron was significantly lower in patients as compared to the controls. Serum iron, serum HDL, blood hematocrit and MCV were significantly lower in patients than in controls (p = 0.000). Serum levels of liver enzymes (ALT and AST) and serum human tissue transglutaminase antibodies (anti-HTTG) were significantly higher in patients than in controls (p = 0.000). The correlation studies established the negative correlation of anti-HTTG IgA with serum iron (r = -0.991, p = 0.000), hematocrit (r = -0.967, p = 0.000) and MCV (r = -0.946, p = 0.000) in patients.

Conclusion: The serum iron was remarkably reduced in CD patients. A negative correlation was found between anti-HTTG IgA and serum iron, while a positive serum iron was correlated with hematocrit and MCV in CD patients.

Keywords: Celiac disease; Human tissue transglutaminase IgA; Liver enzymes; Serum iron; Serum lipids.