Dl. Morris et al., SERUM CAROTENOIDS AND CORONARY HEART-DISEASE - THE LIPID RESEARCH CLINICS CORONARY PRIMARY PREVENTION TRIAL AND FOLLOW-UP-STUDY, JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, 272(18), 1994, pp. 1439-1441
Objective.-To examine the relationship between total serum carotenoid
levels and the risk of subsequent coronary heart disease (CHD) events.
Design.--New analysis of a cohort from the Lipid Research Clinics Cor
onary Primary Prevention Trial and Follow-up Study (LRC-CPPT). The LRC
-CPPT was a multicenter placebo-controlled trial of cholestyramine res
in and CHD with a follow-up period of 13 years. Serum carotenoids were
measured at baseline. Participants.-The placebo group of the LRC-CPPT
, which consisted of 1899 men aged 40 to 59 years with type II-a hyper
lipidemia and without known preexisting CHD, cancer, or other major il
lnesses. Main Outcome Measures.-Nonfatal myocardial infarctions and de
aths attributable to CHD ascertained from hospital records, autopsy re
ports, and death certificates and reviewed by a panel of cardiologists
. Results.-After adjustment for known CHD risk factors including smoki
ng, serum carotenoids were inversely related to CHD events. Men in the
highest quartile of serum carotenoids had an adjusted relative risk (
RR) of 0.64 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.44 to 0.92) compared with
the lowest quartile. For men who never smoked, this RR was 0.28 (95%
CI, 0.11 to 0.73). Conclusions.-The LRC-CPPT participants with higher
serum carotenoid levels had a decreased risk of incident CHD. This fin
ding was stronger among men who never smoked.