Mildly elevated serum bilirubin and its correlations with lipid levels among male patients undergoing health checkups

Abstract

Background Bilirubin’s ability to lower lipid levels was confirmed by several studies, but those studies mainly focused on total bilirubin (TBil). The present study aimed to elucidate the correlations of the two subtypes of bilirubin with lipid levels. Methods A total of 1732 male patients undergoing health checkups were categorized into three groups according to the levels of direct bilirubin (DBil) and indirect bilirubin (IBil). The differences in medical characteristics among the three groups were analysed. Results Subjects in the elevated DBil group had the lowest serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total cholesterol (TC), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT), fasting blood glucose (FBG), haemoglobin (HGB), and triglyceride (TG) levels in contrast to the other groups (P < 0.01), while subjects in the elevated IBil group had the highest ALT, γ-GT, BUN, serum creatinine (SCR), HGB, TC, and TG levels among the three groups (P < 0.01). DBil levels exhibited a significant negative correlation with TC (r = -0.777, P < 0.01) and TG (r = -0.397, P < 0.01) levels, while IBil levels exhibited a significant positive correlation with TC (r = 0.790, P < 0.01) and TG (r = 0.302, P < 0.01) levels. The frequencies of abnormal TC, TG, HGB and BUN levels were the lowest in the elevated DBil group, while the levels of these four variables were the highest in the elevated IBil group. Mildly elevated DBil levels were related to lower TG (OR = 0.112, 95% CI = 0.027–0.458) and TC (OR = 0.097, 95% CI = 0.013–0.700), and mildly elevated IBil levels were connected with increased TC (OR = 3.436, 95% CI = 2.398–4.924) and TG (OR = 1.636, 95% CI = 1.163–2.303). DBil was an independent protective factor against increased TC (OR = 0.702, 95% CI = 0.602–0.817, P < 0.01) and TG (OR = 0.632, 95% CI = 0.541–0.739, P < 0.01) levels, and IBil was an independent risk factors for increased TC (OR = 1.251, 95% CI = 1.176–1.331, P < 0.01). Conclusions DBil was an independent protective factor against high TC and TG levels. IBil was an independent risk factors for elevated TC levels. The prognostic value of IBil levels warrants further attention.