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Vitamin E and Lipid Peroxide Plasma Levels Predict the Risk of Cardiovascular Events in a Group of Healthy Very Old People
Author(s) -
Mezzetti Andrea,
Zuliani Giovanni,
Romano Ferdinando,
Costantini Fabrizio,
Pierdomenico Sante D.,
Cuccurullo Franco,
Fellin Renato
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49110.x
Subject(s) - medicine , quartile , relative risk , confidence interval , myocardial infarction , stroke (engine) , vitamin d and neurology , vitamin e , endocrinology , physiology , antioxidant , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , chemistry , engineering
OBJECTIVES: To assess whether systemic oxidative stress can predict the risk of first myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and congestive heart failure. DESIGN: A longitudinal study started in 1992 and completed in 1997. SETTING: Community‐based, outpatient. PARTICIPANTS: 102 apparently healthy, community‐dwelling subjects age 80 and older from the Vibrata valley, Teramo, Italy. MEASUREMENTS: Plasma vitamin E, β‐carotene, vitamin C, fluorescent products of lipid peroxidation (FPLPs), and serum lipids were determined at enrollment. RESULTS: Thirty‐two cardiovascular events were recorded in 47.4 months of follow‐up. The subjects with vitamin E levels in the highest quartile had a risk of cardiovascular events one‐sixth those with vitamin E levels in the lowest quartile (relative risk (RR) = 0.16; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.04–0.55). The subjects with FPLPs in the highest quartile had a risk seven times greater than those with FPLPs in the lowest quartile (RR = 7.61; 95% CI = 2.23–25.96). No association was observed for vitamin C, β‐carotene, or total cholesterol. Multivariate adjustment for known risk factors did not significantly change the results. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that in apparently healthy, community‐dwelling very old subjects, base‐line plasma concentration of vitamin E and FPLPs predicts the risk of future cardiovascular events. We confirm previous data showing that total cholesterol is not a predictor of cardiovascular disease in people age 80 and older.