Serum carotenoids are strongly associated with dermal carotenoids but not self-reported fruit and vegetable intake among overweight and obese women

Abstract

BackgroundAccurate assessment of fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) is essential for public health nutrition research and surveillance. Blood carotenoid concentrations are robust biomarkers of FVI, but collecting blood samples typically is not feasible in population-based studies. Understanding how well non-invasive measures compare to blood estimates is important for advancing surveillance and evaluation. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between serum carotenoids and four non-invasive measures of FVI in overweight and obese women.MethodsThis study utilized baseline data from 157 overweight or obese women (95.5% white, mean age 58.56 years ± 9.49 years) enrolled in the Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities randomized trial, including two direct measures of carotenoids and three self-reported measures of FVI. Participants completed a fasting blood draw, dermal carotenoid scans using resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS), a two-item FVI screener modeled after the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 “My Life Check” tool (modified AHA tool), the National Cancer Institute’s All-Day Fruit and Vegetable Screener (FVS), multiple 24-h dietary recalls, physical measurements, and demographic and health behavior questions. We analyzed blood for total carotenoids and derived total FVI estimates from self-report tools. We used multivariate linear regression models to examine associations between each non-invasive tool and serum carotenoids under four scenarios analogous to different research contexts in which varying breadths of participant data are available. We also calculated adjusted Pearson’s correlations between serum carotenoids, dermal carotenoids, and the self-reported measures.ResultsDermal carotenoids were strongly correlated with serum carotenoids (0.71, P < 0.00067) and associated with serum carotenoids in all regression models (0.42–0.43, P < 0.002). None of the self-reported FVI measures were significantly associated with serum or dermal carotenoids in adjusted regression models or correlation analyses.ConclusionsCompared to self-reported FVI, we found dermal carotenoids measured by RRS to be a superior method to approximate serum carotenoids among overweight and obese women. More research is needed to investigate these assessment methods in diverse populations.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02499731, registered July 16, 2015.

Use of the Veggie Meter® as a tool to objectively approximate fruit and vegetable intake among youth for evaluation of preschool and school‐based interventions

“…food recall) as a result of cognitive ability and limited reporting skills ( 27 ) . Similar to validation studies in adults ( 16,28 ) , in the present study, skin carotenoid status was not associated with several validated self‐report measures of FV intake among youth. Thus, to move the field forward, continued research is needed to determine associations with plasma carotenoids and Veggie Meter® assessed skin carotenoids in youth, including a thorough assessment of potential confounding variables that may affect skin carotenoid status.…”

Fruit and Vegetable Intake Assessed by Repeat 24 h Recalls, but Not by A Dietary Screener, Is Associated with Skin Carotenoid Measurements in Children

“…However, no significant association was observed between NCI FV cups and skin carotenoids in any models. This is consistent with two other studies that found no significant associations between NCI FV cups and blood [ 37 ] or skin [ 38 ] carotenoids among adults. Together these results suggest that the NCI FV screener is not a valid measure of FV intake.…”

Serum carotenoids and Pediatric Metabolic Index predict insulin sensitivity in Mexican American children

“…Despite the limitations of the FFQ derived estimates of dietary markers, including carotenoids, we found low but highly significant correlations between dietary and serum carotenoids after making appropriate covariate adjustments. Here, it is worth noting that there is no consensus on the nature of the relationship between dietary intake and blood (either serum or plasma) carotenoid concentrations 43 , 44 , 53 – 55 . Also, such relationships may differ by individual carotenoids 43 .…”