[Relationship between plasmatic lipids and fat soluble vitamins in Guatemalan periurban elderly]

The levels of plasmatic lipids and fat liposoluble vitamins were measured in 107 elderlies (29% males, 71% females) who were residents of a poor periurban neighborhood of Guatemala City. The age ranged between 60-103 years (means +/- sd 69 +/- 8). The mean and sd for the plasmatic levels of lipids and vitamins were (ranges in parenthesis): cholesterol 220 +/- 42 mg/dl (128 to 428); triglycerides: 189 +/- 92 mg/dl (54 to 513); retinol 50 +/- 16 ug/dl (4.5 to 103); beta-carotene 17 +/- 12 ug/dl (12 to 60), tocopherol 1.32 +/- 0.36 mg/dl (0.54 to 2.46). A significant correlation was found in both sexes between cholesterol and retinol (r = 0.3, p < 0.05) and cholesterol and tocopherol (r = 0.4, p < 0.05), triglycerides and retinol (r = 0.3, p < 0.05). Cholesterol and beta-carotene was also significant in women (r = 0.5, p < 0.05). The correlation between triglycerides and beta-carotene by gender was not significant.