Vitamin A and carotenoid status in rural China

Abstract

Vitamin A status of 260 groups of twenty-five males or twenty-five females, aged 35-64 years, surveyed in twenty-four provinces of the People's Republic of China, was assessed by measuring plasma retinol, retinoi-binding protein and /%carotene concentrations. Direct measurements of food intake over a 3 d period and questionnaire data on the frequency of consumption of vegetables, fruit% animal products and other dietary items were also used. Vitamin A status appeared to be low only in specific counties but in general was satisfactory or only marginally deficient. Plasma harotene levels were strikingly low in comparison with Western levels despite generous vegetable consumption s u g g w g that intake of vitamin A precursors may have been adequate but not abundant enough to maintain high circulating plasma levels of /%carotene. Plasma /?-carotene, for both males and females, was significantly correlated with the frequency of consumption of green vegetables. Plasma retinol, for males, was highly correlated with meat, fish, oil and alcohol consumption e x p r d both in quantity or frequency of consumption.Higher levels of plasma retinol, together with lower levels of plasma pcarotene in males compared with females, suggest that men consume more animal products or may have higher retinol requirements and therefore a higher rate of conversion of /%carotene to retinol.

Determinants of plasma retinol concentrations of middle-aged women in rural China

“…This was a cross-sectional survey and one concern might be that food consumption in the season of the survey may not reflect year-round consumption of vitamin-A-rich foods. From the 1983 ecologic study of food consumption in 65 rural counties 11,19 and from a similar study in 1989 (unpublished), the average year-round consumption of carotenoid-rich foods was a little less than one serving per day. These foods were generally staple foods available year-round and included dried and fresh sweet potato, carrots, and pickled Chinese cabbage.…”

Visual Function and Macular Carotenoid Changes in Eyes with Retinal Drusen—An Open Label Randomized Controlled Trial to Compare a Micronized Lipid-Based Carotenoid Liquid Supplementation and AREDS-2 Formula

“…The MPOD's protective capabilities have led researchers to investigate the role of carotenoids in the development of eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) [16][17][18][19]. Prior reports have shown that oral supplementation of carotenoids can increase MPOD levels [20][21][22][23][24][25][26]; however, the duration of supplementation needed and the degree to which the increase in MPOD changes the visual performance have varied between studies, thus requiring further investigation to establish an optimal carotenoid supplement and delivery method for individuals with AMD.…”

Study of diet, biomarkers and cancer risk in the United States, China and Costa Rica

“…For example, Shanghai participants had the lowest concentrations of some of the micronutrients we measured, such as α‐carotene, which appears to be inconsistent with the high vegetable consumption of the Chinese suggested by the estimated per capita food consumption data. However, Chinese generally consume green leafy vegetables, which do not contain large quantities of α‐carotene (Wang et al, 1996). In addition, because our study was conducted over only a 4‐month interval, differences between the study locations in seasonal availability of vegetables may affect our results.…”