journal articles
PLASMA CONCENTRATIONS OF RETINOL, TOCOPHEROLS, AND CAROTENOIDS AND PLATELET FATTY ACIDS IN A GROUP OF FEMALE IOWA CENTENARIANS
S.A. Tanumihardjo, H.C. Furr, J.W. Stewart, M.J. Oakland, P.A. Garcia
J Aging Res Clin Practice 2012;1(1):23-28
Objective: Dietary and biochemical assessment of nutritional status of centenarians in assisted care/nursing home settings. Methods: Twenty-four centenarian rural and small-town Midwestern, Caucasian women (98.4 ± 3.4 y, mean ± SD, range 95 to 108 y) were studied for dietary intake, plasma concentrations of retinol, retinol-binding protein (RBP), tocopherols, carotenoids, and platelet fatty acid (FAs) concentrations. Results: Diet provided a daily intake of 1710 kcal, 71 g protein, 58 g fat, and 234 g carbohydrate. Plasma retinol concentration was 1.95 ± 0.52 µM, RBP concentration was 2.48 ± 0.66 µM, and the percent saturation of RBP was 78%. Concentrations of α- and γ-tocopherol were 27.8 ± 11.0 and 5.23 ± 2.12 µM, respectively. The major plasma carotenoids were β-carotene (0.44 ± 0.21 µM), lycopene (0.43 ± 0.20 µM), lutein + zeaxanthin (0.32 ± 0.17 µM), and α-carotene (0.15 ± 0.06 µM). Plasma retinol and RBP concentrations were highly correlated (r = 0.982). There were significant positive correlations between plasma total cholesterol and retinol, RBP, γ-tocopherol, lutein, α-carotene, β-carotene, and platelet 18:2 (µg in 2x108 cells/mL). There were significant positive correlations between dietary 20:4 and platelet 18:0 FAs, dietary 20:4 and serum LDL cholesterol, platelet 18:1 (%FA) and serum HDL-cholesterol. Conclusions: Biochemical values were generally within normal/acceptable ranges, confirming that adequate nutritional status could be maintained in a long-term care setting among centenarians who did not have major chronic, wasting diseases.