Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Oxidative stress has been implicated in the normal ageing process and the pathogenesis of several diseases, including goitre. The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between urine lipid peroxidation (LPO) and anthropometric parameters as well as the parameters associated with goitre formation in children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The subjects included 172 healthy children (93 girls and 79 boys) aged 8-15, divided into 4 age groups - group I (8-9 years), group II (10-11 years), group III (12-13 years) and group IV (14-15 years) - and into 2 groups based on the BSA: the BSA-1 group (≤ 0.55 m(2)) and the BSA-2 group (> 0.55 m(2)). RESULTS: The value of LPO was the highest in group I but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.074). In the BSA-1 group, the LPO was higher than in the BSA-2 group (12.75 ±6.90 nmol/ml and 10.79 ±4.86 nmol/ml, respectively; p = 0.023). We found a weak, negative linear correlation between LPO and age (r = -0.216; p < 0.005), body mass (r = -0.153; p < 0.05), height (r = -0.152; p < 0.05) and BSA (r = -0.151; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Anthropometric parameters of school-age children independently of age are negatively associated with oxidative damage to membrane lipids, whereas factors promoting goitrogenesis do not contribute to this process.