Markers of oxidative stress in obese men with and without hypertension

The aim of our study was to investigate if the 24-hour excretion of the urinary markers for oxidative stress to DNA and RNA, measured as 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-guanosine (8-oxoGuo), respectively, were increased in obese individuals with or without hypertension compared to lean controls.

A total of 63 obese hypertensive men (obeseHT), 40 obese normotensive men (obeseNT) and 27 lean normotensive men (leanNT) were included in the study. Body mass index (BMI) was between 20.0 and 24.9 kg/m² in leanNT participants and ≥30 kg/m² in obese participants. Hypertension was defined as a mean 24-hour systolic ambulatory blood pressure (AMBP) ≥ 130 mmHg or a mean 24-hour diastolic AMBP ≥80 mmHg and normotension as mean 24-hour AMBP <130/80 mmHg. Twenty-four hour urinary 8-oxoGuo and 8-oxodG excretion (nmol/24 h) were measured by a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method (UPLC-MS/MS).

Urinary 8-oxoGuo excretion was (median and [interquartile range]) 30.8 [27.8-32.2] nmol/24 h in leanNT, 36.8 [31.3-40.2] nmol/24 h in obeseNT and 40.6 [31.7-48.5] nmol/24 h in obeseHT. The difference was statistically significant (p = .002) and post hoc tests showed a significant difference between leanNT and obeseHT (p = .001) as well as obeseNT (p = .002), whereas the two obese groups did not differ (p = .6). No statistically significant differences in 8-oxodG concentrations were observed between the three groups (p = .3).

The measurement of urinary excretion of 8-oxoGuo suggests that obesity in men, but not hypertension, is associated with increased oxidative damage to RNA.