Nutritional habits and oxidative stress in postmenopausal age

Postmenopausal obesity increases the risk of oxidative stress, but such an association in newly diagnosed dyslipidemia after menopause requires detailed research.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the relations between oxidative processes, newly diagnosed dyslipidemia, and nutritional behavior in postmenopausal women who did not receive hypolipidemic treatment.

The nutritional status, dietary habits, and oxidative stress parameters were evaluated in 102 postmenopausal women (51 obese and 51 normal‑weight subjects) without lipid disturbances before menopause.

In obese subjects, hypercholesterolemia, higher levels of malondialdehyde and advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs), and a positive correlation between AOPPs and low‑density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were observed. Plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity positively correlated with high‑density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and negatively with the ratios of total cholesterol to HDL-C and LDL-C to HDL-C in both groups. In obese women, daily food rations were characterized by a higher intake of copper and of energy from fat and saturated fatty acids (SFA), while the intake of carbohydrates and selenium was lower than that in lean women (P <0.05). The multivariable models showed a significant effect of SFA and selenium intake on the variability of serum SOD activity (P = 0.003; R2adj = 17%) and malondialdehyde concentrations (P = 0.00001; R2adj = 45%) in obese women.

The study showed that oxidative stress processes are present at early stages of hypercholesterolemia in obese postmenopausal women and may be caused by a poorly balanced diet.