Increased Level of Lipid Peroxidation Products as a Risk Factor of Death in a Prospective Study

The peroxidation-based theory concerning the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis suggests that this disease is a result of the activation of free-radical oxidation and the accumulation of lipid peroxidation (LP) products in the body. This theory needs to be verified by prospective observation data to correlate the latter phenomenon with the increased prevalence of morbidity and mortality among patients with this and related diseases. The authors analyzed the mortality of 35- to 60-year-old males (n = 339) in a ten-year period depending on the initial level of LP fluorescent products (LPFP). Cardiovascular diseases were the main fatal factor in the examined group (47.4%). Mean LPFP levels were initially higher in the subjects who died before the end of the study than in those who survived. Using Coxe's proportional risk model, it was demonstrated that an increased LPFP level is an independent mortality risk factor. An increase in the LPFP level above 15 mmol of fluorene equivalents per mol cholesterol of apo-B-lipoproteins was associated with a nearly 2.4-fold increase in the mortality risk, and its significance was comparable with that of arterial hypertension. The prospective study showed that an increased level of LP products in blood plasma is a major mortality risk factor, being no less strong than the first order (etiological) factors.