Comorbid Characteristics Impact Oxidative Stress Levels in Trauma Patients and Healthy Volunteers Over the Age of 65

Introduction Oxidative stress (OS) contributes to cellular deterioration, resulting in decreases in physiological reserve. A newly developed in vitro diagnostic platform measuring oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), the balance of oxidants and reductants, can now provide a direct measure of OS. Our objective was to determine if comorbid and lifestyle characteristics impact OS in trauma patients and healthy volunteers aged ≥65. Methods This prospective study included 1) trauma patients ≥65 years of age admitted to a suburban Level 1 trauma center between 6/12/14-12/30/14 and 2) age and gender matched healthy, community-dwelling volunteers. Plasma samples (40μL) were tested in duplicate for capacity ORP(cORP, uC; antioxidant reserve), and static ORP (sORP, mV; the current state of OS). Univariate analysis was used to analyze cORP and sORP for differences by gender and by the presence/absence of the following variables in both the injured and healthy control populations: current smoker, pre-injury diabetes mellitus (DM), statin use, vitamin use, and any alcohol consumption. Results 186 subjects were included in the study (n=93 for both groups). Nearly half of the trauma patients (44%) were admitted due to a Traumatic Brain Injury; Injury Severity Scores were low (median [interquartile range] = 9.0 [5-13]). In the trauma population, cORP values were significantly lower in patients with DM (p Conclusion Data suggest that the capacity to tolerate OS, measured by cORP, is lower in aged individuals that smoke or are diabetic. The current state of oxidative stress in these groups is not different until challenged by physical trauma with increases OS. Comorbid variables in the aged groups were associated with changes in OS.