Several studies have associated exposure to
environmental pollutants, especially
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with the development of
cardiovascular diseases. Considering that
1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) is the major
biomarker of exposure to
pyrenes, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential association between 1-OHP and oxidative stress/inflammatory
biomarkers in patients who had suffered an acute
myocardial infarction (AMI). After adopting the exclusion criteria, 58 post-
infarction patients and 41 controls were sub-divided into smokers and non-smokers. Urinary 1-OHP, hematological and biochemical parameters, oxidative stress
biomarkers (MDA, SOD, CAT, GPx and exogenous
antioxidants) and the inflammatory
biomarker (
hs-CRP) were analyzed. 1-OHP levels were increased in post-
infarct patients compared to controls (p < 0.05) and were correlated to MDA (r = 0.426, p < 0.01), CAT (r = 0.474, p < 0.001) and β-
carotene (r = -0.309; p < 0.05) in non-smokers. Furthermore, post-
infarction patients had elevated
hs-CRP, MDA, CAT and GPx levels compared to controls for both smokers and non-smokers. Besides, β-
carotene levels and SOD activity were decreased in post-
infarction patients. In summary, our findings indicate that the exposure to
pyrenes was associated to
lipid damage and alterations of endogenous and exogenous
antioxidants, demonstrating that PAHs contribute to oxidative stress and are associated to acute
myocardial infarction.