title: High levels of urinary F2-isoprostanes predict cardiovascular mortality in postmenopausal women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  F2-isoprostanes are prostaglandin-like compounds formed via arachidonic acid oxidation during oxidative stress.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the relation between urinary concentrations of 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8-iso PGF2α) and mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a nested case-cohort design.
  
  
  METHODS
  Follow-up duration of this prospective study among postmenopausal women was 18 years. Cases included 141 women who died of coronary heart disease and 109 women who died of stroke, whereas controls were a random cohort sample of 142 women. The concentration of 8-iso PGF2α was determined with liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry in urine samples collected at baseline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Smokers had 34.8% higher urinary 8-iso PGF2α concentrations than nonsmokers (P < 0.001). High levels of urinary 8-iso PGF2α were associated with increased incidence of fatal CVD. Women who were in the highest quartile of urinary 8-iso PGF2α levels had, independently of age, an odds ratio of 1.8 (95% confidence interval, 1.1-3.1, P < 0.05) for CVD mortality. Further adjustment by systolic blood pressure, history of CVD, diabetes, smoking, and body mass index did not attenuate this association.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women with high levels of urinary 8-iso PGF2α had an 80% increased risk of dying of coronary heart disease or stroke, supporting involvement of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory of the Department of Clinical Chemistry and Haematology, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roest
authors.forename: Hieronymus A M
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Voorbij
authors.forename: Yvonne T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Van der Schouw
authors.forename: Petra H M
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Peeters
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teerlink
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Scheffer