J. Apgar et al., SERUM CAROTENOID CONCENTRATIONS AND THEIR REPRODUCIBILITY IN CHILDRENIN BELIZE, The American journal of clinical nutrition, 64(5), 1996, pp. 726-730
Suggestions that carotenoid-containing foods are beneficial in maintai
ning health have led to Several studies of circulating carotenoid conc
entrations of adults. Because few data are available for children, we
report serum carotenoid concentrations of 493 children in Belize. Caro
tenoid concentrations were determined as part of a survey of vitamin A
status of children, most between 65 and 89 mo of age. Reproducibility
was tested by collecting a second blood sample 2 wk after the first c
ollection from a subset of children (n = 23) who consumed their habitu
al diet with no treatment during the interim. Predominant serum carote
noids were lutein/zeaxanthin and beta-carotene; which ac counted fur 2
6% and 24% of median total carotenoids, respectively. The three provit
amin A carotenoids, alpha- and beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin, c
onstituted 51% of median total carotenoid concentrations. Partial corr
elations of each carotenoid with lasting retinol concentration indicat
ed that beta-carotene had the highest correlation. Concordance correla
tion coefficients (r(c)) for lasting carotenoid concentrations determi
ned 2 wk apart were greater than or equal to 0.89 for lycopene, beta-c
ryptoxanthin, and alpha- and beta-carotene. The r(c) for lutein/zeaxan
thin and total carotenoids was lower, 0.59 and 0.68 respectively, beca
use of higher lutein/zeaxanthin concentrations at the second sampling
than at the first. The reproducibility of the concentrations suggests
both that individuals have characteristic profiles and that serum caro
tenoid concentrations ran be measured randomly over greater than or eq
ual to 2 wk without significant bias.