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Circulating carotenoid concentrations and incident hypertension: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults

Atsushi Hozawa1, David R Jacobs, Michael W Steffes

  • 1Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, USA.

Journal of Hypertension
|January 22, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Higher serum carotenoid levels, excluding lycopene, are linked to a reduced risk of developing hypertension over 20 years. This finding supports the role of carotenoids in cardiovascular health.

Area of Science:

  • Nutritional Epidemiology
  • Cardiovascular Health
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Epidemiological studies suggest an inverse relationship between carotenoid concentrations and cardiovascular disease incidence.
  • Hypertension is a significant risk factor for macrovascular diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between circulating carotenoids and the risk of developing hypertension.
  • To examine the long-term impact of carotenoid levels on hypertension incidence.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.
  • Inclusion of Black and White men and women aged 18-30 years at recruitment (1985-1986).
  • Assessment of serum carotenoid sums (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, cryptoxanthin) and lycopene at baseline, year 7, and year 15, with hypertension incidence determined over 20 years using proportional hazards regression models.

Main Results:

  • A significant inverse association was observed between the sum of four serum carotenoids (excluding lycopene) at baseline and 20-year hypertension incidence (relative hazard per SD increase: 0.91; 95% CI = 0.84-0.99).
  • These inverse relationships remained significant in time-dependent models incorporating year 7 and year 15 carotenoid values (relative hazard per SD increase: 0.84; 95% CI = 0.77-0.92).
  • Lycopene showed no significant association with hypertension incidence in any of the models.

Conclusions:

  • Higher concentrations of serum carotenoids, excluding lycopene, are generally associated with a lower risk of future hypertension.
  • These findings highlight the potential protective role of specific carotenoids against hypertension development.
Abstract

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