Skin carotenoids status as a potential surrogate marker for cardiovascular disease risk determination in middle-aged and older adults.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Upon consumption, carotenoids, which may attenuate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, diffuse from the blood and accumulate in the skin. This study aimed to assess the associations between dietary, plasma, and skin carotenoids with CVD risk indicators and to examine the mediational role of plasma carotenoids in the relationship between skin carotenoids status (SCS) and CVD risk.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Dietary, plasma, and skin carotenoids were assessed in a cross-sectional study from a community in Singapore (n = 103) aged 50 to 75 y. Multiple linear regression and binary logistics regression models were used to examine the associations between the carotenoids status with classical CVD risk factors and composite CVD risk indicators. After controlling for covariates, SCS and plasma carotenoids were inversely associated with systolic blood pressure (skin: P < 0.001; plasma: P < 0.05) and diastolic blood pressure (skin: P < 0.001; plasma: P < 0.005). Additionally, each increment of 1000 in SCS was associated with an odds ratio of 0.924 (P < 0.01) for metabolic syndrome diagnosis and 0.945 (P < 0.05) for moderate to high CVD risk classification. Associations between SCS and composite CVD risk indicators were null when adjusted for the corresponding plasma carotenoids, indicating complete mediation. Dietary carotenoids, however, showed no relationship with the CVD risk indicators.


CONCLUSION
Carotenoids bioavailability may be important for cardiovascular protection. SCS, driven by the corresponding plasma carotenoids, could be a potential noninvasive surrogate marker for CVD risk determination in middle-aged and older adults.


CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
NCT03554954, https://clinicaltrials.gov/.


TRIAL REGISTRATION DATE
13 June 2018.
['Toh|Darel Wee Kiat|DWK|', 'Sutanto|Clarinda N|CN|', 'Loh|Wen Wei|WW|', 'Lee|Wan Yee|WY|', 'Yao|Yuanhang|Y|', 'Ong|Choon Nam|CN|', 'Kim|Jung Eun|JE|']
D000367:Age Factors D000368:Aged D015415:Biomarkers D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases D002338:Carotenoids D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D000082742:Heart Disease Risk Factors D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D011237:Predictive Value of Tests D011379:Prognosis D018570:Risk Assessment D012846:Singapore D012867:Skin D013997:Time Factors
Skin carotenoids Carotenoids Cardiovascular disease Blood pressure Metabolic syndrome Bioavailability Biological markers Lipoproteins