LIPID PEROXIDATION AND ANTIOXIDANT STATUS: A COMPARISON BETWEEN MIDDLE AGED AND ELDERLY POPULATION

Objective : In recent years a large body of experimental research indicates that oxidative stress and antioxidant defenses are related to processes such as aging and several diseases.Vitamins and antioxidant enzymes have a fundamental role in defending organisms from oxidative stress.The objective of present study was to compare age related oxidative stress in middle aged and older subjects. Design: The present hospital based nonintervention cross sectional study was designed to evaluate age related oxidative stress and its impact in 40 middle aged (35-55y) and 40 older subjects (60y) by measuring Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive substances (TBARs) for lipid peroxidation vis-à-vis antioxidant defense with estimatimation of plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD) and serum alpha-tocopherol concentration . Intervention: none Results: On the basis of the data obtained from our study it was evident that concentration of Thiobarbituric Acid reactive substances were significantly higher in older subjects, whereas enzymatic antioxidant serum superoxide dismutase and free radical scavenging alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) were significantly lower in elderly age group than middle aged subjects. Conclusion :The present study provides some important information regarding age related oxidative stress in elderly population compared to middle aged subjects. Lipid peroxidation which refers to oxidative degradation of lipids and acts as an oxidative stressor in the organism is significantly higher in elderly subjects but in so far as antioxidants are concerned we observe that they are significantly lower in elderly than middle aged subjects. Keywords: aging, antioxidant ,lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress