Low plasma lycopene concentration is associated with increased intima-media thickness of the carotid artery wall

Although a number of epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between p-carotene and the risk of cardiovascular diseases, there has been little research on the role of lycopene, an acyclic form of P-carotene, wi th regard to the risk of cardiovascular disease. We investigated the relati onship between plasma concentrations of lycopene and intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery wall (CCA-IMT) in 520 middle-aged men and wom en (aged 45 to 69 years) in eastern Finland, They were examined from 1994 t o 1995 at the baseline of the Antioxidant Supplementation in Atherosclerosi s Prevention (ASAP) study, a randomized trial concerning the effect of vita min E and C supplementation on atherosclerotic progression. The subjects we re classified into 2 categories according to the median concentration of pl asma lycopene (0.12 mu mol/L in men and 0.15 mu mol/L in women). Mean CCA-I MT of the right and left common carotid arteries was 1.18 mm in men and 0.9 5 mm in women with plasma lycopene levels lower than the median and 0.97 mm in men (P<0.001 for difference) and 0.89 mm in women (P=0.027 for differen ce) with higher levels of plasma lycopene. In ANCOVA adjusting for cardiova scular risk factors and intake of nutrients, in men, low levels of plasma l ycopene were associated with a 17.8% increment in CCA-IMT (P=0.003 for diff erence). In women, the difference did not remain significant after the adju stments. We conclude that low plasma lycopene concentrations are associated with early atherosclerosis, manifested as increased CCA-IMT, in middle-age d men living in eastern Finland.