Racial differences in correlations between reported dietary carotenoid intakes and plasma carotenoid levels

Abstract

Because of cost and practicality, a dietary assessment tool that can accurately predict circulating plasma carotenoid levels is of great interest to epidemiologists. However, validity across racial groups needs to be assured. We studied dietary and plasma levels of oxycarotenoid levels (lutein & zeaxanthin, α‐, β‐cryptoxanthin) and hydrocarbons (lycopene, α‐, β‐carotene) among 123 healthy, non‐smoking adult African‐American (AA) and 128 Caucasian (CA) participants from Los Angeles. Age and gender adjusted correlations between diet and plasma differed substantially by race as seen in the Table. Despite similar plasma carotenoid levels, the correlations with dietary intakes were 0.09 to 0.40 lower among AAs. The 6‐day mean intakes from 24‐hr recalls for all carotenoids were lower among the AAs, consistent with similar validation studies. These results suggest that either this dietary assessment tool was less valid among African‐Americans or that other factors influencing circulating carotenoid levels differ between these groups. Supported by NIH R01CA105048. Pearson's Correlations: Diet and Plasma Carotenoids Carotenoid AA N = 123 CA N = 128 Difference Oxy Carotenoids Lutein and Zeaxanathin 0.11 0.51 0.40 Total‐Cryptoxanthin 0.29 0.50 0.21 β‐Cryptoxanthin 0.30 0.50 0.20 α‐Cryptoxanthin 0.12 0.31 0.19 Hydrocarbons Lycopene 0.00 0.09 0.09 β‐Carotene 0.22 0.41 0.19 α‐Carotene 0.18 0.38 0.20