Relationships of Systemic Oxidative Stress to Body Fat Distribution, Adipokines and Inflammatory Markers in Healthy Middle-aged Women

Abstract

Obesity and systemic oxidative stress are closely related. However data concerning the relationships between oxidative stress and body fat mass distribution are sparse. Anthropometric and metabolic profile was evaluated in 148 clinically healthy middle-aged women to assess the correlations between oxidative stress, fat mass distribution, adipokines, and inflammatory markers. Systemic oxidative stress was assessed by urinary creatinine-indexed 8-epi-prostaglandin F-_2α (8-epi-PGF_2α). Body fat mass distribution was examined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Lipid profile, adipokines and inflammatory markers including leptin, adiponectin, high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were determined. We found body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), both central and peripheral DXA-derived regional fat mass (FM) accumulations were positively correlated with 8-epi-PGF_2α. Leptin, hsCRP and PAI-1also positively associated with 8-epi-PGF_2α. After adjustment for BMI and WC, lower-body FM, total FM and PAI-1 retained significant association with 8-epi-PGF_2α. Mutliple linear regression analyses indicated lower-body FM and PAI-1 were the two important predicators of 8-epi-PGF_2α. These results suggest that DXA-derived regional FM indices, especially low extremity adiposity, are more closely associated with systemic oxidative stress than indirect anthropometric indices. Positive associations between 8-epi-PGF_2α and PAI-1, hsCRP, leptin support the notion that oxidative-stress-induced dysregulation of inflammation and adipokines may mediate the obesity-related metabolic derangement.