ORIGINAL COMMUNICATION Serum concentrations of b-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

Unite´ de Surveillance etd’Epide´miologie Nutritionnelle (USEN), InVS/CNAM, Paris, FranceObjective: To assess relationships between energy, nutrient and food intakes, alcohol consumption, smoking status and bodymass index (BMI), and serum concentrations of b-carotene, a-tocopherol, vitamin C, selenium and zinc.Methods: Data on health status, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, anthropometric data and biochemical measurementswere obtained in 1821 women aged 35–60y and 1307 men aged 45–60y, participant to the SU.VI.MAX Study. Data on dietaryintake 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 b-carotene and vitamin C concentrations and lower concentration for serum vitaminE, zinc and selenium than men. In women, younger age was associated with lowered mean concentration of serum b-carotene,vitamin E and selenium. In men, only differences were observed for serum zinc, which was lower in older men. Current smokersof both sexes had significantly lower concentrations of serum b-carotene, vitamin C and selenium, and, only in women, ofvitamin E, than nonsmokers. Alcohol consumers had lower concentrations of serum b-carotene and higher seleniumconcentrations. Serum b-carotene and vitamin C concentrations were lower in obese subjects. There were positive associationsof dietary b-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 b-carotene in men and 13.9% in women, and 10.8 and10.0% 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, alcoholconsumption and especially dietary intake of those antioxidant nutrients.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 1181–1190. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602230; published online 20 July 2005

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