Background: Both albuminuria and oxidative stress predict future cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. Mounting evidence indicates that oxidative stress plays an important role in the development of albuminuria in diabetes and hypertensive patients. We aimed to test oxidative stress as a potential early risk factor of microalbuminuria by examining the statistical associations between albuminuria and oxidative stress in a Taiwanese population.
Methods: Asample population of 469 Taiwanese subjects (241men and 228 women) was enrolled. Urinary albumin concentrations were presented as urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR). Oxidative stress was estimated by measuring urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results: During univariate analysis stratified by gender, urinary ACR was significantly positively correlated with blood pressure and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in men and correlated with blood pressure, total cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, LDL-cholesterol level, body mass index and urinary 8-OHdG in women. In the multivariate analysis adjusted for age and smoking, only HOMA-IR (p = 0.017) was an important influential factor of urinary ACR in men. On the contrary, urinary 8-OHdG (p = 0.010) was positively associated with urinary ACR in women.
Conclusion: Oxidative stress may serve as a risk factor for the presence of albuminuria in Taiwanese women.