Serum lipid profile changes and their clinical diagnostic significance in COVID-19 Mexican Patients

BackgroundCOVID-19 has been recognized as an emerging and rapidly evolving health condition. For this reason, efforts to determine changes in laboratory parameters of COVID-19 patients as biomarkers are urgent. Lipids are essential components of the human body, and their modulation has been observed implicated in some viral infections. MethodsTo evaluate the clinical diagnosis utility of the lipid profile changes in Mexican COVID-19 patients, the lipid profile of one hundred two COVID-19 positive patients from three hospitals in Culiacan, Sinaloa in northwest Mexico, was analyzed. ROC curves and binary logistic regression analysis were used as a predictive model to determine their clinical diagnostic utility. ResultsSignificant changes in the serum lipid profile of patients with COVID-19, such as low levels of cholesterol, LDL, and HDL, while high triglycerides and VLDL were observed. The same abnormalities in the lipid profile among non-critical and critical COVID-19 patients were detected. The predictive model analysis suggests that cholesterol and LDL have AUC values of 0.710 and 0.769, respectively, for COVID-19 (p= 0.0002 and p= <0.0001), and LDL low levels might be a risk factor for critical COVID-19 (OR= 2.07, 95% IC: 1.18 to 3.63; p= 0.01). ConclusionOur findings suggest that low cholesterol and LDL levels could be considered an acceptable predictor for COVID-19, and low levels of LDL might be a risk factor for critical COVID-19 patients.