Vitamin E and Lipid Peroxide Plasma Levels Predict the Risk of Cardiovascular Events in a Group of Healthy Very Old People

• Published in: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) 2001-05, Vol.49 (5), p.533-537
• Main Authors: Mezzetti, Andrea, Zuliani, Giovanni, Romano, Ferdinando, Costantini, Fabrizio, Pierdomenico, Sante D., Cuccurullo, Franco, Fellin, Renato, The Associazione Medica Sabin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age Distribution; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Ascorbic Acid - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Cardiology; Cardiology. Vascular system; cardiovascular risk; Cardiovascular system; Cholesterol - blood; Cholesterol, HDL - blood; Cholesterol, LDL - blood; Elderly people; Female; Heart Failure - epidemiology; Heart Failure - etiology; Humans; Incidence; Italy - epidemiology; lipid peroxidation; Lipid Peroxides - blood; Lipids; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical research; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Multivariate Analysis; Myocardial infarction; Myocardial Infarction - epidemiology; Myocardial Infarction - etiology; older; Older people; Oxidative Stress; Plasma; Plasma lipids; Predictive Value of Tests; Risk Factors; Stroke - epidemiology; Stroke - etiology; total cholesterol; Triglycerides - blood; Vitamin E; Vitamin E - blood; Vitamin E deficiency
• ISSN: 0002-8614; 1532-5415
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49110.x

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether systemic oxidative stress can predict the risk of first myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and congestive heart failure. DESIGN: A longitudinal study started in 1992 and completed in 1997. SETTING: Community‐based, outpatient. PARTICIPANTS: 102 apparently healthy, community‐dwelling subjects age 80 and older from the Vibrata valley, Teramo, Italy. MEASUREMENTS: Plasma vitamin E, β‐carotene, vitamin C, fluorescent products of lipid peroxidation (FPLPs), and serum lipids were determined at enrollment. RESULTS: Thirty‐two cardiovascular events were recorded in 47.4 months of follow‐up. The subjects with vitamin E levels in the highest quartile had a risk of cardiovascular events one‐sixth those with vitamin E levels in the lowest quartile (relative risk (RR) = 0.16; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.04–0.55). The subjects with FPLPs in the highest quartile had a risk seven times greater than those with FPLPs in the lowest quartile (RR = 7.61; 95% CI = 2.23–25.96). No association was observed for vitamin C, β‐carotene, or total cholesterol. Multivariate adjustment for known risk factors did not significantly change the results. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that in apparently healthy, community‐dwelling very old subjects, base‐line plasma concentration of vitamin E and FPLPs predicts the risk of future cardiovascular events. We confirm previous data showing that total cholesterol is not a predictor of cardiovascular disease in people age 80 and older.