Use of oral contraceptives and serum beta-carotene

Abstract

Objective: Antioxidants, in particular carotenoids, may in¯uence the risk for cardiovascular disease. This study investigates the in¯uence of oral contraceptives (OC) on the serum concentration of beta-carotene, which may in turn affect the risk of cardiovascular diseases due to its antioxidative impact. Design: Cross-sectional epidemiologic study. Examinations included a detailed questionnaire on medical history and lifestyle factors, a 7 day food record, and blood samples. Setting: National health and nutrition survey among healthy people living in private homes in West Germany in 1987±1988. Subjects: Nonpregnant and nonlactating women aged 18±44 (n 610). Results: Overall, the use of OC was negatively associated with serum beta-carotene concentration in bi-and multivariable analyses after adjustment for age, smoking, alcohol consumption, dietary intake of beta-carotene, use of vitamin supplements, body mass index, pregnancies, and serum concentrations of total triglyceride and cholesterol. A strong interaction between OC use and age on beta-carotene concentration was observed. While no relationship between OC use and serum beta-carotene was seen in the youngest age-group (18±24 y), there was a modest but signi®cant negative association between OC use and beta-carotene levels among 25±34 y old women. The use of OC was associated with a strong decrease in beta-carotene levels among 35±44 y old women. The interaction between OC use and age could partly be explained by age dependent use of OC with higher estrogen content. Conclusions: OC use seems to be strongly related to serum beta-carotene levels, particularly among women above the age of 35. Further studies are needed to clarify the underlying mechanisms of this association and its implications for health risks of OC use. Sponsorship: The national health and nutrition survey was founded by the German Ministry of Research and Technology.

Relationship between intensity of night shift work and antioxidant status in blood of nurses

“…It has been postulated, although a final proof is still missing, that estrogens may have protective effects against lipid peroxidation (Brown et al 2000 ; Chiang et al 2004 ). Studies performed on rats or women receiving HRT demonstrated a quite opposite effect: increase in blood lipid peroxides and/or decrease in plasma B-carotene—precursor of vitamin A (Berg et al 1997 ). Ha and Smith ( 2009 ) found significantly higher GSH-Px activity in plasma and RBC of healthy postmenopausal women aged 70.9 ± 3.5 years, compared with the premenopausal ones.…”

Lipid Peroxidation in Judoists Using Oral Contraceptives

“…Surprisingly, only a few studies have investigated the eff ects of oral contraceptives (OCs) on oxidative stress. Studies from the beginning of the 1990s reported a signifi cant increase in blood lipid peroxides [ 53 ] and a decrease in plasma antioxidant B-carotene in OC users at rest [ 6 ] . Decreases in the liposoluble antioxidants coenzyme Q10 and α-tocopherol were also shown in women taking OCs compared with a control group not using OCs [ 44 ] .…”

Dietary predictors of serum total carotene in low-income women living in São Paulo, south-east Brazil

“…Other variables identified in previous studies, such as oral contraceptive (OC) use, were not significant in multiple linear models in our study. It has been reported that OC users have lower levels of serum β-carotene ( 42 , 43 ) . In a representative sample of US women, OC users had lower dietary intake of carotenoids, were more likely to smoke and drink, were married and highly educated compared with non-users of OC, after adjusting for confounding variables ( 40 ) .…”