Cardiovascular disease risk factors and oxidative stress among premenopausal women

Abstract Oxidative stress is one hypothesized mechanism linking anthropometric, behavioral, and medical risk factors with cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated cross-sectional associations between CVD risk factors and biomarkers of oxidative stress, and investigated these biomarkers as predictors of incident diabetes and hypertension among premenopausal women. F 2 -isoprostane (F 2 -IsoP) and metabolite (15-F 2t -IsoP-M), reliable biomarkers of oxidative stress, were measured in urine samples collected at enrollment from 897 premenopausal women (ages 35–54) enrolled in the Sister Study cohort without a CVD history. Blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI) were measured at enrollment by trained study personnel. Diabetes and cigarette smoking were self-reported via enrollment questionnaires. Over a maximum follow-up of 11.5 years, participants self-reported incident diabetes and hypertension diagnoses on mailed questionnaires. In cross-sectional analyses, both F 2 -IsoP and 15-F 2t -IsoP-M were positively associated with BMI, waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, and current smoking. F 2 -IsoP was elevated among those with diabetes, and 15-F 2t -IsoP-M increased with higher systolic blood pressure. Prospective analyses suggested an increased hypertension risk among those with elevated 15-F 2t -IsoP-M (highest vs. lowest quartile: hazard ratio=2.34; 95% CI: 1.20–4.56). Our results suggest that urinary F 2 -IsoP and 15-F 2t -IsoP-M are positively associated with adiposity measures, blood pressure, and cigarette smoking. Further investigation is warranted to evaluate 15-F 2t -IsoP-M as a predictor of hypertension.