Li Chaoyang, Ford Earl S, Zhao Guixiang, Balluz Lina S, Giles Wayne H, Liu Simin
Division of Behavioral Surveillance, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd NE, MS E97, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
Arch Intern Med. 2011 Mar 28;171(6):507-15. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2010.440. Epub 2010 Nov 22.
Much research has been conducted relating total carotenoids--and β-carotene in particular--to risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Limited data are emerging to implicate the important role of α-carotene in the development of CVD or cancer.
We assessed the direct relationship between α-carotene concentrations and risk of death among 15,318 US adults 20 years and older who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Follow-up Study. We used Cox proportional hazard regression analyses to estimate the relative risk for death from all causes and selected causes associated with serum α-carotene concentrations.
Compared with participants with serum α-carotene concentrations of 0 to 1 μg/dL (to convert to micromoles per liter, multiply by 0.01863), those with higher serum levels had a lower risk of death from all causes (P < .001 for linear trend): the relative risk for death was 0.77 (95% confidence interval, 0.68-0.87) among those with α-carotene concentrations of 2 to 3 μg/dL, 0.73 (0.65-0.83) among those with concentrations of 4 to 5 μg/dL, 0.66 (0.55-0.79) among those with concentrations of 6 to 8 μg/dL, and 0.61 (0.51-0.73) among those with concentrations of 9 μg/dL or higher after adjustment for potential confounding variables. We also found significant associations between serum α-carotene concentrations and risk of death from CVD (P = .007), cancer (P = .02), and all other causes (P < .001). The association between serum α-carotene concentrations and risk of death from all causes was significant in most subgroups stratified by demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, and health risk factors.
Serum α-carotene concentrations were inversely associated with risk of death from all causes, CVD, cancer, and all other causes. These findings support increasing fruit and vegetable consumption as a means of preventing premature death.
已经进行了大量有关总类胡萝卜素——尤其是β-胡萝卜素——与癌症和心血管疾病（CVD）风险之间关系的研究。关于α-胡萝卜素在CVD或癌症发展中的重要作用，现有数据有限。
我们评估了15318名年龄在20岁及以上参与第三次全国健康与营养检查调查随访研究的美国成年人中，α-胡萝卜素浓度与死亡风险之间的直接关系。我们使用Cox比例风险回归分析来估计全因死亡及与血清α-胡萝卜素浓度相关的特定原因死亡的相对风险。
与血清α-胡萝卜素浓度为0至1μg/dL（换算为微摩尔每升时，乘以0.01863）的参与者相比，血清水平较高者全因死亡风险较低（线性趋势P <.001）：α-胡萝卜素浓度为2至3μg/dL者的死亡相对风险为0.77（95%置信区间，0.68 - 0.87），浓度为4至5μg/dL者为0.73（0.65 - 0.83），浓度为6至8μg/dL者为0.66（0.55 - 0.79），浓度为9μg/dL或更高者为0.61（0.51 - 0.73），在对潜在混杂变量进行调整后。我们还发现血清α-胡萝卜素浓度与CVD死亡风险（P =.007）、癌症死亡风险（P =.02）以及所有其他原因死亡风险（P <.001）之间存在显著关联。在按人口统计学特征、生活方式习惯和健康风险因素分层的大多数亚组中，血清α-胡萝卜素浓度与全因死亡风险之间的关联均显著。
血清α-胡萝卜素浓度与全因死亡、CVD、癌症及所有其他原因死亡风险呈负相关。这些发现支持增加水果和蔬菜的摄入量作为预防过早死亡的一种方式。
