Aging Linked to Type 2 Diabetes Increases Oxidative Stress and Chronic Inflammation

Oxidative stress (OxS) and inflammation are physiopathological mechanisms related to diabetes and aging. We evaluated the additive effect of diabetes and aging on OxS and inflammation in a cross-sectional comparative study of 228 subjects: (1) 56 healthy adults (mean age, 47 +/- 7 years); (2) 60 diabetic adults (mean age, 52 +/- 6 years); (3) 40 healthy elderly adults (mean age, 67 +/- 7 years); and (4) 72 diabetic elderly adults (mean age, 68 +/- 7 years). We measured levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), plasma lipid peroxides, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, total antioxidants, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). The results indicate that diabetes is a risk factor for subjects with high serum levels of TNF-alpha (odds ratio [OR] 12.1; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 5.0-28; p < 0.001); this correlation becomes stronger when it is also associated with aging (OR 14; 95% CI, 3.7-53.7; p < 0.05). Likewise, we observed that diabetes is an independent risk factor for OxS (OR = 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2-3.8; p < 0.05), and a stronger factor in older patients (OR 3.1; 95% CI, 1.3-7.5; p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that aging, in concert with diabetes, exerts an additive effect on OxS and inflammation.