Vitamin E and lipid peroxide plasma levels predict the risk of cardiovascular events in a group of healthy very old people.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To assess whether systemic oxidative stress can predict the risk of first myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and congestive heart failure.

DESIGN:

A longitudinal study started in 1992 and completed in 1997.

SETTING:

Community-based, outpatient.

PARTICIPANTS:

102 apparently healthy, community-dwelling subjects age 80 and older from the Vibrata valley, Teramo, Italy.

MEASUREMENTS:

Plasma vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, fluorescent products of lipid peroxidation (FPLPs), and serum lipids were determined at enrollment.

RESULTS:

Thirty-two cardiovascular events were recorded in 47.4 months of follow-up. The subjects with vitamin E levels in the highest quartile had a risk of cardiovascular events one-sixth those with vitamin E levels in the lowest quartile (relative risk (RR) = 0.16; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.04-0.55). The subjects with FPLPs in the highest quartile had a risk seven times greater than those with FPLPs in the lowest quartile (RR = 7.61; 95% CI = 2.23-25.96). No association was observed for vitamin C, beta-carotene, or total cholesterol. Multivariate adjustment for known risk factors did not significantly change the results.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results suggest that in apparently healthy, community-dwelling very old subjects, base-line plasma concentration of vitamin E and FPLPs predicts the risk of future cardiovascular events. We confirm previous data showing that total cholesterol is not a predictor of cardiovascular disease in people age 80 and older.

• Authors: A Mezzetti, G Zuliani, F Romano, F Costantini, S D Pierdomenico, F Cuccurullo, R Fellin, Associazione Medica Sabin
• Journal: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (J Am Geriatr Soc) Vol. 49 Issue 5 Pg. 533-7 (May 2001) ISSN: 0002-8614 [Print] United States
• PMID: 11380744 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Cholesterol, HDL
• Cholesterol, LDL
• Lipid Peroxides
• Triglycerides
• Vitamin E
• Cholesterol
• Ascorbic Acid

Topics

• Age Distribution
• Age Factors
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Ascorbic Acid (blood)
• Cholesterol (blood)
• Cholesterol, HDL (blood)
• Cholesterol, LDL (blood)
• Female
• Heart Failure (epidemiology, etiology)
• Humans
• Incidence
• Italy (epidemiology)
• Lipid Peroxides (blood)
• Longitudinal Studies
• Male
• Multivariate Analysis
• Myocardial Infarction (epidemiology, etiology)
• Oxidative Stress
• Predictive Value of Tests
• Risk Factors
• Stroke (epidemiology, etiology)
• Triglycerides (blood)
• Vitamin E (blood)