Hepatic stores of retinol and retinyl esters in elderly people

Post-mortem concentrations of hepatic retinol and retinyl esters were determined in 40 subjects aged over 65 years to assess the effects of disease and malnutrition on vitamin A reserves. Three groups of patients (mean age 79.6 years) were studied: (1) previously healthy, (2) chronically ill, (3) chronically ill and wasted. There was no significant difference in height or age between the groups, but group 3 was lighter than both group 1 (P less than 0.001) and group 2 (P less than 0.05). Free retinol and retinyl esters were measured by high pressure liquid chromatography, and the total hepatic retinol calculated. Analysis of variance showed that the three groups differed significantly (P less than 0.02) with regard to total retinol, retinyl palmitate and total retinyl ester content.