[Vitamin nutritional status of a high lung cancer risk population]

Vitamins A, C, D, (VA, VC, VE) and carotene (CAR) in plasma and riboflavin (VB2) in urine samples were measured to evaluate the nutritional status of 44 non-mining workers, 81 miners and 43 lung cancer patients in Yunnan Tin Mine. Plasma VA in these 3 groups averaged 46.6, 52.8, and 47.8 micrograms/dl, respectively, with 0, 0 and 7.2% of the individuals having levels under 20 micrograms/dl. The average levels of plasma CAR among these 3 groups were 153.6, 123.0 and 137.1 micrograms/dl. CAR contents in miners were significantly lower (P less than 0.01) than those of non-mining workers. About 1/4 of the miners and 1/6 of the lung cancer patients had values less than 80 micrograms/dl. Plasma VC among these 3 groups averaged 423, 406 and 360 micrograms/dl, respectively, with 14.0, 11.5 and 25.6% of the individuals having levels under 300 micrograms/dl. The average plasma VE contents ranged from 648.3 to 722.0 micrograms/dl for the 3 groups. 70.5% of non-mining workers. 42.0% of miners and 39.5% of the lung cancer patients had levels less than 700 micrograms/dl, which is considered either low or deficient in nutritional surveys. 52.3% of the non-mining workers and 51.8% of the miners were either low or deficient in VB2. Although there was intermittent supplementation of riboflavin in lung cancer patients, the low and deficient VB2 nutritional status was still observed in 27.9% of them. The study establishes the low nutritional status in vitamins of the high lung cancer risk population in Yunnan Tin Mine and provides a background for a nutritional intervention trial to prevent lung cancer in the miners.