Evaluation of an FFQ for assessment of antioxidant intake using plasma biomarkers in an ethnically diverse population

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate FFQ estimates of dietary intake of individual antioxidants, fruit and vegetables in comparison to plasma concentrations of each antioxidant, and to determine which individual foods are associated with plasma antioxidant concentrations. Design: Dietary (a-carotene, b-carotene, b-cryptoxanthin, lutein/zeaxanthin, lycopene, retinol, and vitamin E) intakes over 12 months were estimated from a 121-item FFQ. Correlation coefficients, corrected for within-person variability in diet and plasma antioxidants, were used to examine associations between antioxidant concentrations in diet and plasma. Setting: Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (MCCS). Subjects: Men and women (n 3110) who were randomly selected from the MCCS. Participants were aged 36-72 years and were born in Australia, Greece, Italy or the UK. Results: Correlation coefficients for the carotenoids ranged from 0?28 for lycopene to 0?46 for b-cryptoxanthin. There was no association between dietary and plasma retinol or dietary vitamin E with plasma a-and g-tocopherol. Individual plasma carotenoid concentrations were associated with intakes of fruit and vegetables. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the FFQ provides useful information on intakes of each of the carotenoids: a-carotene, b-carotene, b-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lutein/zeaxanthin. There was no association between diet and plasma markers of retinol or vitamin E; this may reflect the importance of factors other than intake in modifying circulating levels of these nutrients.

Plasma Vitamin C, but Not Vitamin E, Is Associated With Reduced Risk of Heart Failure in Older Men

“…Dietary vitamin E and plasma vitamin E correlated poorly in this study (r=0.10) as has been shown in other studies. 32 It is well established that plasma concentrations of vitamin E increase with the amount of total plasma lipids, 29 and particularly with LDL-cholesterol, the principal carrier of tocopherol in the circulation, as was seen in this study. Thus, vitamin E absorption may be influenced by factors other than diet and seems to be an unreliable marker of dietary vitamin E (α-tocopherol) intake.…”

Dietary protein intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study and a meta-analysis of prospective studies

“…Dietary intake was assessed with the use of a validated 121-item FFQ at baseline (15,16), which was specifically designed for the MCCS (17). The FFQ has 9 options of frequency response ranging from never or ,1 time/mo to $6 times/d.…”

Carotenoids, retinol, tocopherols, and prostate cancer risk: pooled analysis of 15 studies

“…Individual participant data on circulating carotenoids, retinol, or tocopherols were available from 15 studies: the AlphaTocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC) (11,13,14); the b-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (15); the CLUE I and CLUE II studies (named after the campaign slogan "Give us a Clue to Cancer") (16,17); the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study (18); the Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey (19); the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (20); the Janus biobanks (21); the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (22,23); the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) (24); the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) (25); the Physicians' Health Study (26); the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) (27)(28)(29); the Prostate testing for cancer and Treatment (ProtecT) trial (30); and the SUpplémentation en VItamines et Minér-aux Anti-oXydants trial (SU.VI.MAX) (31). Descriptions of the study designs are in Supplemental Table 1, and details of the assay methods are in Supplemental Table 2.…”