Serum levels of tocopherol and their relationship to risk factor of coronary heart disease in university students.

Abstract

SummaryThis study assessed the biochemical status of serum atocopherol (Toe) and lipid in university students (60 males and 51 females) and searched for risk factors of coronary heart disease (CHD). No significant differences were observed between the sexes in total cholesterol (T-C) (170 and 181 mg/ 100 ml for males and females, respectively), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (116 and 118 mg/ 100 ml), and phospholipids (PL) (193 and 199 mg/ 100 ml). The levels of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were lower in males (54 mg/ 100 ml) than in females (62 mg/ 100 ml, p<0.001) and those of triglyceride (TG) were higher (74 and 59 mg/100 ml for males and females, respectively, p<0.01). There were also no significant differences in HDL-C as a percentage of T-C (32 and 35%) and the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio (2.3 and 2.0). Toe level and the Toc/T-C ratio were significantly lower in males (5.16 ,u g/ml and 3.11 ,u g/mg, respectively) compared with females (6.15 ,u g/ml and 3.46 ,u g/mg, respectively) (p<0.001 for Toe and p < 0.05) for Toc/T-C. A direct relationship was found between the T-C level and LDL-C (r=0.92, p<0.001) and HDL-C (r=0.40, p<0.001). The atherogenic index, the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio, showed a positive correlation with the T-C level (r = 0.43, p<0.001) and a negative correlation with the HDL-C level (r = -0.63, p<0.001). The T-C levels also could be correlated with the levels of Toe (r = 0.37, p<0.001) and inversely correlated with the Toc/T-C ratio (r= -0.41, p<0.001). The Toc/T-C ratio showed an inverse correlation with the LDL-C/HDL-C (r= -0.31, p<0.001). These results reveal that the T-C level affects the vitamin E status and that the Toc/T-C ratio can be used to assess trends in CHD risk factors.

Serum nutritional status of tocopherol and retinol normalized to lipids of persons living in the southern rural Terai region in Nepal

“…As shown in Table 5, the levels of Toc and Ret in serum are correlated with the serum levels of Chol and TG. These correlations concur with our previous findings for the Nepalese in the Itahari district (24), for university students (34) and elementary school children (26) in Japan, and with those of other reports (19)(20)(21)(22). These results indicate that the changes in serum levels of Toc and Ret are closely related to the alterations in the Chol and TG levels.…”

“…Those values appear to be lower than the normal plasma concentration of vitamin E of 10 μg/ml with a range of 5-16 μg/ml (33). The Toc levels of the Nepalese were lower than those of the Japanese, at 5.16 and 6.15 μg/ml, in males and females, 21 years, respectively (34), and at 8.7 and 10.1 μg/ml, in males and females, 50-74 years, respectively (35). The levels of Toc were lower than those of Tunisians (9.34 μg/ml as the average in males and females) (29), of the British (10.2 μg/ml as the average in males and females) (32), and of Americans (11.2 μg/ml as the average in males and females) (36).…”

Urinary Excretion of Retinol and Tocopherol by Young Japanese Women

“…The mean values of triglycerides (TG, 58 mg/dl) and total cholesterol (TC, 180 mg/dl) were almost similar to young females reported previously (59, 181 mg/dl, respectively) [22]. The level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, 79 mg/dl) was higher than those for young females reported previously (62 mg/ dl) [22] and the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, 101 mg/dl) was lower than those for young females reported previously (118 mg/di) [22].…”

“…The level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, 79 mg/dl) was higher than those for young females reported previously (62 mg/ dl) [22] and the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, 101 mg/dl) was lower than those for young females reported previously (118 mg/di) [22]. Therefore, the arteriosclerosis index (AI) (LDL/ HDL ratio, 1.32) was lower than those reported previously (2.0) [22]. The lower AI indicates a lower risk of coronary heart disease, thus showing the subjects were in good health.…”

“…These observations raised the possibility that urinary excretion of Ret and Toc may also be the case for healthy persons and their urinary excretion may play a significant role in the decrease of serum Ret and Toc. There have been reports about the serum contents of these vitamins [22][23][24][25] and their relation to food intake [26][27][28][29], but there has not been sufficient information on their urinary excretion in healthy peoples. The purpose of this study was to assess the amount of serum levels and urinary excretion of these vitamins and to clarify the relationship between their levels in urinary excretion and serum levels in young Japanese women.…”