Evaluation of urinary hydrogen peroxide as an oxidative stress biomarker in a healthy Japanese population

Abstract

The usefulness of urinary hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as an oxidative stress biomarker was evaluated in 766 healthy Japanese. The mean level of urinary concentrations of H₂O₂ was 5.66 ± 8.27 μmol/g creatinine, and was significantly higher in females than in males. Significant correlations of H₂O₂ were observed with age, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), insulin, 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), and exercise habit in females. In both sexes, H₂O₂ showed a significant correlation with 8-OHdG. By a multiple logistic regression analysis, urinary H₂O₂ was positively associated with urinary 8-OHdG and TC and was inversely associated with insulin. By stratification of sex and age, the association of urinary H₂O₂ with TC was positive in both sexes under 50 years old and was inverse in males over 50 years old, and that with insulin was inverse in males over 50 years old and in females under 50 years old. Moreover, by stratification of sex and age, a positive association of H₂O₂ with exercise and an inverse association of H₂O₂ with alcohol consumption became clear in males under 50 years old, although there were no significant odds for H₂O₂ after adjustment for covariates. In conclusion, the present results suggest that urinary H₂O₂ is a useful biomarker for oxidative stress, showing an association with 8-OHdG, TC, and insulin independently.

Keywords::

• H₂O₂
• 8-OHdG
• lifestyle
• total cholesterol
• exercise

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge technical contributions from K. Takemoto, A. Minoura, S. Hamanishi, and A. Ohashi.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

This work was supported in part by funding from the Junpukai and the Health Science Center Foundation.