Antioxidant vitamins and coronary artery disease risk in South African males

Decreased antioxidant-vitamin nutritional status may increase lipid peroxid ation and susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to oxidative modi fication. The aim of this study was to evaluate the vitamin nutritional sta tus of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and to assess the risk of CAD related to each individual antioxidant vitamin. The study was performed as a case-control study with 41 patients with angiographically demonstrated C AD and 41 apparently healthy age- and smoking status-matched controls. Plas ma vitamin E, C and A concentrations were significantly decreased in CAD pa tients compared with controls (p < 0.001) after correcting for significant covariates. Per quartile decrease in vitamin A and E concentrations was ass ociated with increased risk of CAD, even after adjusting for CAD risk facto rs, while per quartile decrease in vitamin C concentrations was not associa ted with significant CAD risk after adjusting for CAD risk factors. Decreas ed vitamin A and E concentrations are independently associated with increas ed risk of CAD independent from other CAD risk factors in white male South Africans and dietary intervention strategies are advocated. (C) 1998 Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.