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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Cell Population Analyses During Skin Carcinogenesis
Published on: August 21, 2013
Skin Carotenoid Index in a large Japanese population sample
Akira Obana1,2, Yuko Gohto3, Werner Gellermann4
1Department of Ophthalmology, Seirei Hamamatsu General Hospital, 1-12-12 Sumiyoshi, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka, 430-8558, Japan. obana@sis.seirei.or.jp.
Abstract:
Carotenoids are anti-oxidative agents. Human skin and eyes contain specific carotenoid species known to prevent various pathologies caused by oxidative stress. We quantified skin and eye carotenoid levels and investigated their potential correlation in a population including 985 Japanese patients and staff members of an ophthalmology clinic (577 men, 408 women, mean age of 69.7 ± 13.6 [SD]). Skin carotenoid (SC) and macular pigment (MP) levels were measured with reflection spectroscopy and autofluorescence imaging methods, respectively. The mean SC index was 343.1 ± 142.1 (SD). SC indices for women were higher than for men (382 vs 315, p < 0.001). Smokers and overweight subjects (BMI ≥ 25) had lower SC indices. Subjects taking lutein supplements had higher SC indices than non-supplementing subjects (415 vs 325, p < 0.001). SC and MP indices were significantly correlated. The obtained data set can be used for reference purposes by Japanese subjects and researchers interested in tissue responses to diets high in carotenoids and lutein supplementation.
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