TBARS and cardiovascular disease in a population-based sample

Background Oxygen radicals might play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of various diseases, including atherosclerosis. Thiobarbituric acid reaction substances (TBARS), a biomarker of oxidative stress, have been proposed as a summary measure of total circulating oxidation. However, there is no strong indication that circulating levels of TBARS are increased in patients with atherosclerosis. Design We evaluated the relation between TBARS and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a cross-sectional random sample of white men and women from Buffalo, New York. Methods Logistic regression was used to estimate the risk associated with high levels of TBARS. The area under the ROC curve was used to evaluate the discriminating power of TBARS. Results After adjusting for age and gender, TBARS levels were significantly higher in those with prevalent CVD (OR=1.73, 95% CI=1.32-2.38), compared to those without a CVD diagnosis. These OR were almost 50% higher after correcting for measurement error (ME) (OR=1.93, 95% CI=1.07-3.40). The area under the ROC curve was 0.69 (95% CI=0.62-0.77) and when corrected for ME reached 0.80 (95% CI=0.65-0.89). Conclusions Our results indicate that elevated levels of TBARS were associated with increase risk of the prevalence of CVD, but this effect was no longer significant after adjusting for glucose.