Vitamin C status of adults living in Valencia, Spain. Influence of non-nutritional factors on plasma vitamin C.

Ascertaining the antioxidant nutritional status of different population groups is of great interest because of the probable benefits of these nutrients in the prevention of chronic disease. In this study the vitamin C status of adults living in a region characterized by its high availability of food with a high vitamin C content was investigated. In addition, vitamin C intake and the effect of non-nutritional factors on plasma vitamin C was examined. The majority of the subjects had an adequate vitamin C status. Nevertheless, by a probabilistic method it was established that a large proportion of the population was at risk of consuming inadequate amounts of vitamin C, the risk being considerably higher among male smokers. Females had higher vitamin C plasma concentrations than men. This difference persisted after adjusting the data for smoking habits. Also women's vitamin C intake was higher. Smoking affected male's plasma vitamin C concentrations negatively. Neither age nor the season of data collection had an effect on plasma vitamin C. Vitamin C intake was only influenced by season among males. No factor affected significantly vitamin C intake or plasma vitamin concentrations among females. Finally, multiple linear regression analysis showed that vitamin C intake and smoking habits make it possible to predict, in part, plasma vitamin C concentrations in males.