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Alterations of the lipid profile after 7.5 years of low-dose antioxidant supplementation in the SU.VI.MAX study

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Lipids

Abstract

Antioxidant micronutrients have been reported to be associated with an improvement in the blood profile, but the results are not consistent. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of antioxidant supplementation on changes in the serum lipid profile of adult participants in the SU.VI.MAX study. French adults (n=12,741∶7,713 females aged 35–60 yr, and 5,028 males aged 45–60 yr) received daily antioxidant supplementation (120 mg vitamin C, 30 mg vitamin E, 6 mg β-carotene, 100 μg selenium, and 20 mg zinc) or a matching placebo. Median follow-up time was 7.5 yr. After 7.5 yr, no effect of supplementation on total cholesterol was observed in men or women after adjusting for baseline total cholesterol levels and lipid-lowering medications. The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (≥6.5 mmol/L) showed a trend toward being higher in women who received supplements compared with those who received the placebo (P=0.06). In both sexes, the group receiving supplements exhibited higher mean serum TG concentrations than did the placebo group (P=0.06 in men; P=0.05 in women). The prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia (≥2.3 mmol/L) was also significantly higher in men who received supplements (P=0.03), but not in women. Our results suggest than long-term daily supplementation with low doses of β-carotene, vitamins C and E, selenium, and zinc does not result in an improved lipid profile and could even adversely affect some blood lipids, possibly with a higher risk of hyperlipidemia in women.

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Abbreviations

apo:

apolipoprotein

CVD:

cardiovascular disease

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U557 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) [Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) INSERM/Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)/Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM)], Institut Scientifique et Technique de la Nutrition et de l’Alimentation/CNAM, 5 rue Vertbois, F-75003, Paris, France

    Serge Hercberg, Sandrine Bertrais, Sébastien Czernichow, Nathalie Noisette, Pilar Galan, Adèle Jaouen & Louise Mennen

  2. Unité de Surveillance et d’Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle (USEN), Institut de Veille Sanitaire InVS/CNAM, Paris, France

    Serge Hercberg

  3. Institut Régional de la Santé (IRSA), Tours, France

    Jean Tichet

  4. Ecole de Santé Publique, Epidémiologie clinique, E1 3444, Faculté de Médecine, CHU Nancy, France

    Serge Briancon

  5. Laboratoire Lésions des Acides Nucléiques, UMR CNRS-CEA-UJF 5046, Grenoble, France

    Alain Favier

  6. Département de Biologie intégrée, CHU La Tronche, Grenoble, France

    Alain Favier

  7. Laboratoire Nutrition, Vieillissement et Maladies Cardiovasculaires, EA 4736, UJF, UFR de Pharmacie, La Tronche, Grenoble, France

    Anne-Marie Roussel

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  1. Serge Hercberg
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  2. Sandrine Bertrais
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  3. Sébastien Czernichow
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  4. Nathalie Noisette
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  9. Alain Favier
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  10. Louise Mennen
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  11. Anne-Marie Roussel
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Correspondence to Serge Hercberg.

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Hercberg, S., Bertrais, S., Czernichow, S. et al. Alterations of the lipid profile after 7.5 years of low-dose antioxidant supplementation in the SU.VI.MAX study. Lipids 40, 335–342 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-006-1391-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-006-1391-3

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