ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Decreased fibrinolytic activity results in longer fibrinolysis time of blood and an increased propensity for hypercoagulable states of blood. Subjects with less fibrinolytic activity are prone to coronary artery disease, stroke and thromboembolic phenomena. AIM: The study aims to identify the impact of gender, dietary habits, body mass index, physical activity level and menstrual cycle on fibrinolytic activity in healthy subjects. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional study on randomly selected 206 healthy medical students aged 17 to 23 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Anthropometric measurements, dietary habits, physical activity level and menstrual history were obtained. Fibrinolysis time of fasting venous blood sample was determined by Euglobulin Lysis Time (ELT) method. RESULTS: Highly significant gender difference was noted in mean fibrinolytic activity (p=0.002). Mean fibrinolytic activity also showed a significant relationship with BMI (p=0.001) and with different phases of menstrual cycle in females (p=0.004). However, such relationship was not observed with diet and physical activity (p>0.05) in boys and girls. CONCLUSION: Gender difference, body mass index and menstrual cycle phases have influences on the fibrinolytic activity of blood. This might be due to cyclical changes in the sex hormones levels, endometrium-derived plasmin and plasminogen activators and excess production of plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-I) in visceral adipocytes.
