Effect of Lifestyle Factors on Serum Antioxidant Levels in Apparently Healthy Individuals

Abstract

Introduction Lifestyle factors are among the multiple factors that initiate pathology of non-communicable diseases (NCD) which starts in young age and remains undetected till the clinical symptoms occur. Serum antioxidant levels in individuals with varied lifestyle habits were evaluated to determine the relationship between lifestyle factors, reactive oxygen species and development of NCD. Objectives The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of serum antioxidants in the metabolic changes initiated by lifestyle choices of apparently healthy individuals. Materials and methods 104 healthy volunteers of age 20-30 years from South Indian Population were randomly selected after obtaining informed consent for the cross section observational study. The inclusion criteria were Fasting glucose <100mg/dl, Triglycerides <150mg/dl, Total cholesterol< 200mg/dl and Hemoglobin >12 g/dl (females) and >14g/dl (males). Lifestyle factors like age, gender, diet, socioeconomic condition, physical activity, psychological stress, smoking, alcohol were determined based on questionnaires. Fasting serum antioxidants- Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), Coenzyme Q10 – single dilution method HPLC, serum uric acid and body mass index (BMI) were estimated. Pearson correlation and Spearman rho correlation was done using SPSS software version 17 with “p” value <0.05 were considered as significant. Results Mean of Age (25.30±3.214), BMI (22.5±4.65), Superoxide dismutase (U/mL) (181.78±17.9), Glutathione peroxidase (U/L) (8607.36±1237.2), Coenzyme Q10 (μg/L) (484.12±59.65) and Uric acid (mg/dL) (4.92±1.27) are as noted in the study group. A positive correlation was found between SOD, CoQ10 and increased dietary intake of fruits and vegetables, low BMI, higher Socio economic status. GPx and uric acid had a positive correlation with age, smokers and alcoholics, and negative correlation with physical activity. Gender wise differences significantly seen in GPx and Uric acid. Conclusion Serum antioxidants are altered by the lifestyle choices of the study population.