Original Communication
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 1181–1190. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602230; published online 20 July 2005
Serum concentrations of 
-carotene, vitamins C and E, zinc and selenium are influenced by sex, age, diet, smoking status, alcohol consumption and corpulence in a general French adult population
Guarantor: P Galan.
Contributors: SB and NA did the data statistical analysis. PG, SH, AF and AMR were primarily responsible for writing the manuscript. FV, SC, AF, A-MR, SH contributed ideas for analysis and editing the paper. HF, SR, JA and SC carried out vitamin and trace-elements analyses. PG and SH supervised the whole process.
P Galan1, F E Viteri2, S Bertrais1, S Czernichow1, H Faure3, J Arnaud3, D Ruffieux3, S Chenal3, N Arnault1, A Favier3,4, A-M Roussel5 and S Hercberg1,6
- 1U557 Inserm (UMR Inserm/Inra/CNAM), Institut Scientifique et Technique de la Nutrition et de l'Alimentation/CNAM, Paris, France
- 2Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, University of California at Berkeley and Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), Oakland, California, USA
- 3Département de biologie intégrée Bâtiment B, CHU La Tronche BP 217, Grenoble Cedex, France
- 4Laboratoire Lésions des Acides Nucléiques, UMR CNRS-CEA-UJF 5046, Grenoble, France
- 5Laboratoire Nutrition Vieillissement Maladies Cardiovasculaires, EA 37 46, UFR de pharmacie, UJF, la Tronche, France
- 6Unité de Surveillance et d'Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (USEN), InVS/CNAM, Paris, France
Correspondence: P Galan, U557 Inserm (UMR Inserm/Inra/CNAM), Institut Scientifique et Technique de la Nutrition et de l'Alimentation/CNAM, 5 rue Vertbois, F-75003 Paris, France. E-mail: pilar.galan@cnam.fr
Received 4 November 2004; Revised 7 April 2005; Accepted 23 May 2005; Published online 20 July 2005.
Abstract
Objective:
To assess relationships between energy, nutrient and food intakes, alcohol consumption, smoking status and body mass index (BMI), and serum concentrations of 
-carotene, 
-tocopherol, vitamin C, selenium and zinc.
Methods:
Data on health status, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, anthropometric data and biochemical measurements were obtained in 1821 women aged 35–60 y and 1307 men aged 45–60 y, participant to the SU.VI.MAX Study. Data on dietary intake were available on a subsample who reported six 24-h dietary records during the first 18 months of the study.
Results:
Women had higher baseline serum -carotene and vitamin C concentrations and lower concentration for serum vitamin E, zinc and selenium than men. In women, younger age was associated with lowered mean concentration of serum -carotene, vitamin E and selenium. In men, only differences were observed for serum zinc, which was lower in older men. Current smokers of both sexes had significantly lower concentrations of serum -carotene, vitamin C and selenium, and, only in women, of vitamin E, than nonsmokers. Alcohol consumers had lower concentrations of serum -carotene and higher selenium concentrations. Serum -carotene and vitamin C concentrations were lower in obese subjects. There were positive associations of dietary -carotene, vitamin C and E with their serum concentrations. Age, nutrient and alcohol intakes, serum cholesterol, BMI and smoking status explained 15.2% of the variance of serum -carotene in men and 13.9% in women, and 10.8 and 10.0% for serum vitamin C, and 26.3 and 28.6% for serum vitamin E, respectively.
Conclusion:
Serum antioxidant nutrient concentrations are primarily influenced by sex, age, obesity, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and especially dietary intake of those antioxidant nutrients.
Keywords:
antioxidants, vitamins, trace elements, tobacco, BMI, alcohol, dietary intake
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated
NEWS AND VIEWS
Prostate cancer Neither vitamin E nor selenium prevent prostate cancer
Nature Reviews Urology News and Views (01 Apr 2009)
