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[Copper intake and blood levels as risk factors for atheromatous disease]
1Unidad de Epidemiología Nutricional, Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos (INTA), Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Background:
Copper is part of antioxidant enzymes and could have a cardiovascular protective effect. A higher cardiovascular risk has been associated with high as well as low plasma copper levels.
Aim:
To search for differences in copper intake and plasma levels between patients with coronary artery or cerebrovascular diseases and normal subjects.
Patients And Methods:
Zinc and copper intake, plasma levels and serum lipid levels were measured in 20 patients with cerebrovascular disease, 20 patients with an acute myocardial infarction and 40 subjects hospitalized for elective surgery, that served as controls.
Results:
Copper and zinc intake was below recommended allowances in all subjects. Serum zinc and copper levels did not differ in the three study groups. In patients with myocardial infarction a weak correlation was found between serum copper and total cholesterol (r = 0.24; p < 0.05) and LDL cholesterol (r = 0.31; p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
No differences in copper levels were found in subjects with atherosclerosis and controls. The correlation between serum copper and cholesterol deserves further investigation.