Correlations between Oxidative Stress and Blood Lipids Are Stronger in Men than Women

Abstract

: Oxidative stress is one cause of atherosclerosis that makes it a lifestyle-related disease. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein （ OxLDL ） was previously found to be related to oxidative stress, measured using the diacron-reactive oxygen metabolites （ d-ROMs ） test and showed a negative correlation between biological antioxidant potential （ BAP ） test results and triglycerides （ TG ） . In addition, large gender differences exist among vascular disorders caused by arteriosclerosis. However, such gender differences and their correlation with oxidative stress and blood lipids have not been clarified. In this study, gender differences in correlations between oxidative stress and blood lipids as factors in the development of atherosclerosis was addressed. Subjects were 149 individuals who underwent medical examinations conducted in Ashikaga Teishin Clinic in Tochigi, Japan （ 98 males and 51 females ） . A strong positive correlation was observed between d-ROMs test results and OxLDL in men （ R ＝ 0.480, P ＜ 0.0001 ） , but no correlation was seen in women. A strong negative correlation between BAP test results and TG was also noted in men （ R ＝­ 0.571, P ＜ 0.0001 ） , and a moderate negative correlation was detected in women （ R ＝­ 0.344, P ＝ 0.0133 ） . A positive correlation between d-ROMs tests and OxLDL was seen in women under 50 years of age （ R ＝ 0.399, P ＝ 0.0393 ） , but this correlation was not present in women who were 50 years of age or older （ R ＝­ 0.00656, P ＝ 0.976 ） . Correlations between oxidative stress and OxLDL and between antioxidant potential and TG in men were more prominent than in women. This finding suggests that decreasing oxidative stress in the blood to prevent atherosclerosis is more important for men.