Smoking, alcohol drinking and serum carotenoids levels

Serum carotenoids concentrations in healthy inhabitants, aged 40-79 years, of a community were measured. The results are as follows. 1. The alpha- and beta-carotene and lycopene levels in serum were significantly higher in females than males. The alpha- and beta-carotene concentrations tended to increase with advancing age, this being especially marked for serum beta-carotene levels in males. However, beta-carotene levels were high in females throughout the age range of 50-69 years. There was no significant change in serum level of lycopene with age. 2. There was no significant difference in intake frequency of foods containing large amounts of carotenoids among the groups with or without smoking and drinking, as serum alpha- and beta-carotene levels were closely associated with intake frequency of green-yellow vegetables. 3. Regular alcohol drinkers or current smokers showed lower serum beta-carotene concentrations, and the effect of alcohol drinking on serum carotene level seemed to be larger than that of smoking. A synergistic lowering action of smoking and drinking on serum beta-carotene level was suggested. Among the alcohol drinkers, the more cigarettes consumed per day, the lower the serum beta-carotene level was, but this was not the case among the non-drinkers. Ex-smokers showed intermediate values between current smokers and non-smokers. The results suggest that alcohol drinking and smoking habit might be associated with lower serum beta-carotene level, which in turn may be related to excess incidence of cancer among smokers or drinkers.