Biochemical Alterations of Trace Elements and Lipid Profile in Patients with Celiac Disease

Hadeel Majed Ahmed

Authors

Hadeel Majed Ahmed College of Medicine, Ibn Sina University of Medical & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Baghdad, Iraq

Keywords:

Celiac disease, Trace elements, Lipid profile, Zinc deficiency, Inflammatory biomarkers

Abstract

Background: Chronic inflammatory status of the intestine with malabsorption is a characteristic condition of celiac disease, resulting in great impairment of trace elements and lipid metabolism. Assessment of these biochemical changes can be useful for disease diagnosis and monitoring of nutritional and inflammatory status of patients affected. Aims of the study: To assess biochemical changes in the levels of trace elements and lipid profile parameters in patients with celiac disease and correlate them with markers of inflammation. Methodology: This case–control study was conducted from January 2025 to March 2026 in Iraq with 100 patients with celiac disease and 50 healthy controls matched by age and sex. The diagnosis was confirmed by the presence of clinical symptoms, anti-TTG serology and intestinal biopsy. Hematological, biochemical, inflammatory and lipid profile parameters were analyzed by automatic analyzer and ELISA method. The concentration of serum iron, ferritin, zinc, copper, magnesium, calcium, CRP and lipid profile markers were determined in standard laboratory conditions. Data were analyzed statistically using SPSS version 26 and included analyses such as t-tests, Pearson correlation, and ROC curve analysis. Result: Patients with celiac disease had significantly lower BMI, higher rates of chronic diarrhea, weight loss, and positive family history, when compared with controls. The serum level of iron, ferritin, zinc, magnesium, calcium, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, hemoglobin and albumin was significantly reduced, while copper, WBC count, platelet count, ESR and CRP were significantly increased (p < 0.001). There were significant correlations between inflammatory and nutritional biomarkers. The ROC analysis showed that zinc, ferritin and magnesium had good diagnostic values, and they could be used as markers for the evaluation of celiac disease. Conclusions; Celiac disease is associated with significant disturbances in trace elements, lipid profile, and inflammatory biomarkers. Zinc, ferritin, and magnesium demonstrated valuable diagnostic potential for assessing nutritional and inflammatory alterations in affected patients.

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