The Clinical Role of the Thiol-Disulfide Balance as an Oxidative Stress Indicator in Patients with Obesity

Objectives: Thiol-disulfide measurements will assess obesity-related oxidative stress. Methods: A prospective observational study was done at two tertiary care centers. The participants were divided into three distinct categories based on their body mass index (BMI): The control group (Group 1) consisted of 116 individuals with a BMI ranging from 18 to 25 kg/m², while the overweight group (Group 2, n = 89) included those with a BMI between 25 and 30 kg/m². The obese group (Group 3, n = 39) comprised individuals with a BMI of 30 kg/m² or greater. This approach primarily utilizes the disulfide/native thiol ratio, disulfide/total thiol ratio, and native thiol/total thiol ratio as key metrics. All patients' demographics, waist circumference, hip circumference, height, weight, hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cell count, glucose, C-reactive protein, disulfide, native-thiol (NT), total-thiol (TT), lipid hydroperoxide radical (LOOH), and absolute ischemia-modified-albumin (ABSO) levels were recorded on calculations and records were made for disulfide to native and total thiol ratios. Results: Thiol-disulfide equilibrium differed between the three groups. NT concentrations averaged 368.87 mmol/L across all individuals and were significantly higher in the normal-weight cohort (BMI 18-25 kg/m2) at 380.60 mmol/L, compared to overweight and obese populations (p<0.001). TT concentrations were higher in normal-weight individuals, with an average of 426.36±54.48 mmol/L, compared to 405.41±52.14 and 391.07±46.45 in overweight and obese individuals, respectively (p<0.001). Conclusions: Reduced native and total thiol levels, along with altered disulfide concentrations in obese individuals, serve as indicators of oxidative stress.