Plasma lipids and inflammation in active inflammatory bowel diseases

Background Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) can cause metabolic and inflammatory alterations. Aim To evaluate the relationships between inflammatory parameters, plasma lipids and phospholipid fatty acid (FA) composition in patients with active UC and CD. Methods Diet, the Harvey-Bradshaw Activity Index (HBAI), inflammatory parameters, lipoproteins and FA composition were assessed in 60 CD and 34 UC. Results No differences in clinical parameters were observed in the two groups. Total cholesterol correlated inversely with the number of bowel movements in both groups and directly with BMI in UC. Arachidonic acid correlated inversely with HBAI in UC and total and HDL cholesterol were inversely related to C-reactive protein (CRP) in CD while HDL correlated with CRP in UC. Docosapentaenoic acid was the only polyunsaturated n-3 FA that was correlated to CRP in both groups. Total cholesterol was independently associated in the multiple regression analysis with the number of bowel movements and systemic inflammation. Conclusions Total and LDL cholesterol were lower in the active UC and CD than in the healthy subjects and were correlated with the systemic inflammatory status. Phospholipid FA composition was correlated to the systemic inflammatory status, but was unrelated to dietary intake and intestinal disease activity.