Oxidative stress is associated with increased arterial stiffness in middle-aged and elderly community-dwelling persons

Background/Purpose Oxidative stress is thought to be involved in the development of vascular dysfunction. Arterial stiffness is one of the most significant manifestations of aging and vascular disease. We investigated whether increased malondialdehyde-modified low-density lipoprotein (MDA-LDL), which is responsible for oxidative stress, was associated with increased arterial stiffness, independent of confounders of cardiovascular disease. Methods The participants comprised 10 men aged 70 ± 7 years (range, 61–82 years) and 86 women aged 67 ± 7 years (range, 53–81 years). Peripheral arterial stiffness was evaluated by the mean of the right and left brachial to ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Results and conclusion Both right and left baPWV values of Tertile-2 (61–81 U/L) and Tertile-3 (82–218 U/L) categorized by tertiles of the MDA-LDL level were significantly higher than those of Tertile-1 (34–60 U/L; p = 0.022 and p = 0.018, respectively). The multivariate-adjusted baPWV increased significantly from the lowest to the highest MDA-LDL group. Both baPWV values of Tertile-2 (61–81 U/L) and Tertile-3 (82–218 U/L) were significantly higher than those of Tertile-1 (34–60 U/L) ( p = 0.044 and p = 0.044, respectively). To further investigate whether MDA-LDL can explain baPWV levels independent of other known confounding factors, multiple linear regression analyses for baPWV were conducted, which showed that MDA-LDL levels ( β = 0.164, p = 0.037) were independently and significantly associated with baPWV as well as gender, age, and presence of raised blood pressure. In addition, we found that a slightly high–normal MDA-LDL level within a normal range is significantly associated with a higher baPWV. MDA-LDL levels are associated with an increased risk of arterial stiffness in community-dwelling persons.