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Low vitamin and carotenoid levels are related to cerebral white matter lesions

  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objectives: Purpose

To determine the effects of vitamins and carotenoids on brain white matter lesions (WMLs), we examined the associations between WMLs with vitamin and carotenoid levels in Japanese middle-aged and elderly subjects.

Subjects and methods

Four-hundred and sixty-nine healthy participants (male = 317; female = 152) that underwent medical examinations were examined. Deep white matter lesions (DWLs) were detected via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 39 subjects. We evaluated the effects of vitamin and carotenoid levels on DWLs via logistic regression analysis.

Results

Lower gamma-tocopherol levels were significantly associated with DWLs in all subjects. While lower gamma-tocopherol and vitamin C levels were significantly associated with DWLs in males, lower delta-tocopherol levels were associated with DWLs in females. The associations between DWLs and lower gamma- and delta-tocopherol and vitamin C levels were independent of age, hypertension, or smoking. However, the associations between DWLs and lower alfatocopherol were not significant following adjustments for smoking.

Conclusion

Lower carotenoid and vitamin levels were independently associated with cerebral DWLs in Japanese subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology and Gerontology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

    Y. Ohshima, Toshiki Mizuno, Y. Nagakane, M. Kondo, N. Kuriyama & M. Nakagawa

  2. Department of Epidemiology for Community Health and Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

    K. Ozasa & Y. Watanabe

  3. Department of Radiology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

    K. Yamada & T. Nishimura

  4. Kyoto Industrial Health Association, Kyoto, Japan

    S. Matsumoto, T. Miyazaki & K. Takeda

  5. Department of Epidemiology, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima, Japan

    K. Ozasa

  6. 465 Kajii-cho, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, 602-0841, Japan

    Toshiki Mizuno

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  1. Y. Ohshima
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  2. Toshiki Mizuno
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  3. K. Yamada
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  4. S. Matsumoto
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  5. Y. Nagakane
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  6. M. Kondo
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  7. N. Kuriyama
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  8. T. Miyazaki
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  9. K. Takeda
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  10. T. Nishimura
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  11. M. Nakagawa
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  13. Y. Watanabe
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Ohshima, Y., Mizuno, T., Yamada, K. et al. Low vitamin and carotenoid levels are related to cerebral white matter lesions. J Nutr Health Aging 17, 456–460 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-012-0419-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-012-0419-z

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