Antioxidants in adipose tissue and risk of myocardial infarction: The EURAMIC study
article
Laboratory and epidemiological studies suggest that the antioxidants, vitamin E and β-carotene, protect against coronary heart disease. In a European multicentre case-control study α-tocopherol and β-carotene concentrations were measured in adipose-tissued samples collected in 1991-92 from 683 people with acute myocardial infarction and 727 controls. Mean adipose-tissue β-carotene concentration was 0.35 μg/g in cases and 0.42 in controls, with age-adjusted and centre-adjusted mean difference 0.07 μg/g (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04-0.10). Mean α-tocopherol concentrations were 1993 μg/g and 192 μg/g for cases and controls, respectively. The age-adjusted and centre-adjusted odds ratio for risk of myocardial infarction in the lowest quintile of β-carotene as compared with the highest was 2.62 (95% CI 1.79-3.83). Additional control for body-mass index and smoking reduced the odds ratio to 1.78 (95% CI 1.17-2.71); other established risk factors did not substantially alter this ratio. The increased risk was mainly confined to current smokers: the multivariate odds ratio in the lowest β-carotene quintile in smokers was 2.39 (95% CI 1.35-4.25), whereas it was 1.07 for people who had never smoked. A low α-tocopherol concentration was not associated with risk of myocardial infarction. Our results support the hypothesis that high β-carotene concentrations within the normal range reduce the risk of a first myocardial infarction. The findings for α-tocopherol are compatible with previous observations of reduced risk among vitamin E supplement users only. The consumption of β-carotene-rich foods such as carrots and green-leaf vegetables may reduce the risk of myocardial infarction. Chemicals/CAS: Antioxidants; beta Carotene, 7235-40-7; Carotenoids, 36-88-4; Vitamin E, 1406-18-4
Topics
alpha tocopherolantioxidantbeta caroteneclinical trialcontrolled studycoronary artery diseasedietheart infarctionmajor clinical studynutritionpriority journalrandomized controlled trialrisk factorsmokingvegetableAdipose TissueAdultAgedAntioxidantsbeta CaroteneCarotenoidsCase-Control StudiesHumanMaleMiddle AgeMyocardial InfarctionOdds RatioRisk FactorsSupport, Non-U.S. Gov'tVitamin E
TNO Identifier
232412
ISSN
01406736
Source
Lancet, 342(8884), pp. 1379-1384.
Pages
1379-1384
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