Obesity Indices and Plasma Total Antioxidant Status in Hypertensive Elderly Living in Ulsan Area / 대한지역사회영양학회지

ABSTRACT

The role of free radicals in the progression of many diseases and aging has been given a great attention and total antioxidant status (TAS) has shown to be reduced with aging. The incidence of hypertension has shown to be relatively high in the aged population, and it is known to be associated with increased obesity and oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to examine the obesity indices and the total antioxidant status in hypertensive elderly (64yelderly controls. Obesity indices such as Body Mass Index (BMI), Percent Ideal Body Weight (PIBW), Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR) and weight were significantly higher in the hypertensive elderly than controls (P<0.05). TAS was significantly higher (P=0.001) in the hypertensive elderly than controls, and was significantly positively correlated with weight, BMI, PIBW, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure (P<0.05). Uric acid tended to be higher in the hypertensive elderly than controls and significantly correlated with TAS and BMI, while plasma concentrations of alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene and ascorbic acid did not show their significant correlations with TAS. These results showed that the hypertensive elderly are prone to be obese and to have increased TAS. Due to unknown factors affecting TAS values, measurement of plasma TAS as a sole indicator of total antioxidant capacity is limited to fully understanding changes in the body's free radical trapping power. However, the results from the current study may suggest that hypertension and/or obesity might increase oxidative stress, followed by increased the body's total antioxidant defense system.