Association of serum carotenoid levels with urinary albumin excretion in a general Japanese population: the Yakumo study

Background: Albuminuria is a risk factor for not only nephropathy progression but also cardiovascular disease. Oxidative stress may have a role in the positive association between albuminuria and cardiovascular disease.

Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated the associations of serum levels of carotenoids, which are dietary antioxidants, with albuminuria among 501 Japanese adults (198 men, mean age ± SD: 66.4 ± 10.0 years; 303 women, mean age ± SD: 65.4 ± 9.8 years) who attended a health examination. Serum levels of carotenoids were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs for albuminuria after adjustment for age, body mass index, smoking habits, drinking habits, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia.

Results: Prevalence of albuminuria was 15.4% among men and 18.1% among women. Among women with albuminuria, geometric mean serum levels of canthaxanthin, lycopene, β-carotene, total carotenes, and provitamin A were significantly lower than those of normoalbuminuric women. Adjusted ORs for albuminuria among women in the highest tertiles of serum β-carotene (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.20-0.98) and provitamin A (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.20-0.97) were significantly lower as compared with those for women in the lowest tertile. There were no associations between serum carotenoids and albuminuria in men.

Conclusions: An increased level of serum provitamin A, especially serum β-carotene, was independently associated with lower risk of albuminuria among Japanese women.