Evaluation of oxidative stress and total antioxidant capacity in women with general and abdominal adiposity

Background: Previous studies have shown that general and abdominal adiposity are closely associated with risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease events. We sought to evaluate the oxidative stress and plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels in women with general and abdominal adiposity. Methods: In this study, 160 women 20-45 years old were randomly selected. General information data were gathered from each sample using questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. Venous blood samples were drawn from subjects and plasma was separated. In this study, oxidative stress levels were assessed by measuring the concentrations of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA). We also evaluated total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of plasma in subjects. Results: Mean plasma concentration of MDA was significantly higher in overweight and obese women groups compared to healthy women group (2.62 +/- 0.81 vs. 1.96 +/- 0.72, p < 0.01 and 3.25 +/- 0.74 vs. 1.96 +/- 0.72, p < 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, plasma TAC levels were significantly lower in obese women compared to healthy women group (2.57 +/- 0.58 vs. 3.45 +/- 0.73, p < 0.01). No significant difference was observed between overweight and normal weight women in plasma TAC levels. In addition, women with central body fat distribution had higher MDA (3.28 +/- 0.78 vs. 2.23 +/- 0.52, p < 0.001) and lower TAC levels (p < 0.01) compared to normal body fat distribution (2.41 +/- 0.59 vs. 3.16 +/- 0.84, p < 0.01). We also observed that aforementioned relationships remained significant even after adjusting for several confounders. Conclusions: Our results provides further evidence suggesting that obesity and, especially, abdominal adiposity associated with elevated oxidative stress and decreased levels of TAC in plasma which in turn, may contribute to obesity related diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension. (C) 2010 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.