EVALUATION OF LIPID PROFILE AND PROSTATE SPECIFIC ANTIGEN ON CANNABIS SMOKERS IN OWERRI

Abstract

This study was done to evaluate the levels of lipid profile and prostate specific antigen on cannabis smokers in Owerri. Forty students of Imo State University who used cannabis for less than three years between the ages of 18 and 35 years were used as test subject, while 20 students who do not use cannabis within the ages of 18 to 35 years were used as control. The levels of lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein) were determined by spectrophotometric method, while PSA level was determined by enzyme linked immunoassay (ELIZA) method. The results were analyzed using students t-test at P<0.05. The results obtained  showed that the level of total cholesterol (163.51±30.31mg/dl) in cannabis smokers was not significantly increased when compared with the control (151.20±33.36mg/dl) at P<0.05. On the other hand, the level of PSA (3.58±0.4ng/ml) in cannabis smokers was significantly increased when compared with the control (2.74±0.21ng/ml) at P<0.05. This observation may probably imply that cannabis smoking could be a risk factor in the development of prostate cancer. Hence, smoking cannabis should be avoided.