Carotenes linked to lower heart disease deaths

An increased consumption of alpha- and beta-carotene in the diet may reduce the risks of heart disease deaths by about 20 per cent, suggests a new study.

In a study of 559 men, researchers assessed the potential benefits of various antioxidant nutrients for CVD mortality in elderly men (average age 72). Over 15 years of follow-up, lead author Brian Buijsse reports that 197 men had died from CVD. The men were free of chronic diseases at the start of the study.

Buijsse and co-workers report that an increased intake of alpha-carotene was associated with a 19 per cent reduction in the risk of CVD mortality, while beta-carotene was linked to a 20 per cent reduction, after adjusting the results for potential confounding factors, such as age and smoking

The study has several limitations, most notably the use of food frequency questionnaires to assess dietary intakes, which may be susceptible to recall errors from the participants.

Late in 2007, researchers from Harvard reports that long-term beta-carotene supplementation may slow the rate of age-related cognitive decline.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (Vol. 167, pp. 2184-2190), was the first to look at long-term antioxidant supplementation in relation to a decline in cognitive function that occurs with naturally with age, and that precedes diseases such as Alzheimer's.