Oxidative stress markers are associated with persistent atrial fibrillation

Background:Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been associated with myocardial oxidative stress, and antioxidant agents have demonstrated antiarrhythmic benefit in humans. We compared serum markers of oxidation and associ-ated inflammation in individuals with or without AF. Methods: Serummarkers of oxidative stress and inflam-mation were compared in a cross-sectional, case-control design study of 40 male individuals, with or without persistent or permanent AF, who were matched for age, sex, diabetes, and smoking status, known confounding variables for the measurement of oxidative stress. We used derivatives of reactive oxidative metabolites (DROMs) and ratios of oxidized to reduced glutathione (Eh GSH) and cysteine (Eh CySH) to quantify oxidative stress. We also measured inflammatory markers, includ-ing high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukins 1 and 6, and tumor necrosis factor . Results: Univariate, conditional logistical regression analysis showed that oxidative stress but not inflamma-tory markers were statistically associated with AF (P <0.05). The increase in the odds ratios for AF for E