Serum β-carotene and the risk of sudden cardiac death in men: a population-based follow-up study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To examine whether serum concentrations of carotenoids are related to the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in middle-aged men.

METHODS:

The study population consisted of 1031 Finnish men aged 46-65 years of the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor (KIHD) cohort. Serum concentrations of carotenoids were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. The hazard ratios (HR) of serum β-carotene, lycopene and α-carotene were estimated by using the Cox proportional hazard model after adjusting for age and other potential confounding factors.

RESULTS:

During a median follow-up of 15.9 years a total of 59 incidents of SCD occurred. After controlling for age, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, smoking, alcohol consumption, years of education, serum LDL cholesterol, serum hs-CRP, diabetes, prevalent coronary heart disease (CHD) and congestive heart failure (CHF), men in the lowest tertile of serum concentrations of β-carotene had a 2-fold increased risk of SCD (HR=2.15, 95% CI: 1.02-4.51; p=0.044) as compared to those in the highest tertile. The risk of SCD was borderline significant for lycopene. In addition, low serum β-carotene concentrations increased the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality. Lycopene and α-carotene were not related to the risk of SCD.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings suggest that low serum β-carotene concentrations may increase the risk of SCD in middle-aged Finnish men. Furthermore, low serum β-carotene concentrations may be related to the risk of CVD and total mortality.

• Authors: Jouni Karppi, Jari A Laukkanen, Timo H Mäkikallio, Kimmo Ronkainen, Sudhir Kurl
• Journal: Atherosclerosis (Atherosclerosis) Vol. 226 Issue 1 Pg. 172-7 (Jan 2013) ISSN: 1879-1484 [Electronic] Ireland
• PMID: 23164140 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• beta Carotene

Topics

• Aged
• Death, Sudden, Cardiac (epidemiology)
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Prospective Studies
• Risk Factors
• beta Carotene (blood)