High serum carotenoids are associated with lower risk for developing elevated serum alanine aminotransferase among Japanese subjects: the Mikkabi cohort study

• Published in: British journal of nutrition Vol. 115; no. 8; pp. 1462 - 1469
• Main Authors: Sugiura, Minoru, Nakamura, Mieko, Ogawa, Kazunori, Ikoma, Yoshinori, Yano, Masamichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 28.04.2016
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; alanine transaminase; Alanine Transaminase - blood; alcohol drinking; Alcohol use; alcohols; alpha-carotene; Analysis; Antioxidants; Baseline studies; beta Carotene - blood; beta-carotene; beta-cryptoxanthin; Beta-Cryptoxanthin - blood; blood serum; Carotenoids; Carotenoids - administration & dosage; Carotenoids - blood; Cohort Studies; Dietary Surveys and Nutritional Epidemiology; drug therapy; Female; females; hepatitis B; Hepatitis B virus; Humans; Japan; Liver diseases; Liver Diseases - enzymology; Liver Diseases - prevention & control; Longitudinal Studies; lycopene; Male; males; Middle Aged; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - enzymology; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - prevention & control; nutrition risk assessment; Pathogenesis; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; risk reduction; Studies; Vitamin A; Vitamins; Japan; Antioxidants; Longitudinal cohort studies; Alanine aminotransferase; Carotenoids; Cohorts; AST aspartate aminotransferase; NAFLD non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; ALT alanine aminotransferase
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114516000374

Many recent studies have shown that antioxidant vitamins and/or carotenoids may reduce liver disease, but this association has not been well established with thorough longitudinal cohort studies. The objective of this study was to longitudinally investigate whether serum carotenoids at baseline are associated with the risk of developing elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) among Japanese subjects. We conducted a follow-up study of 1073 males and females aged between 30 and 79 years at baseline from the Mikkabi prospective cohort study. Those who participated in the baseline study and completed follow-up surveys were examined longitudinally. Exclusions included excessive alcohol consumption (≥60 g alcohol/d), hepatitis B and C and having a history of medication use for liver disease. A cohort of 213 males and 574 females free of elevated serum ALT (>30 IU/ml) at baseline was studied. Over a mean follow-up period of 7·4 (sd 3·1) years, thirty-one males and forty-nine females developed new elevated serum ALT. After adjustments for confounders, the hazard ratios for elevated serum ALT in the highest tertiles of basal serum β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and total provitamin A carotenoids against the lowest tertiles were 0·43 (95 % CI 0·22, 0·81), 0·51 (CI 0·27, 0·94) and 0·52 (CI 0·28, 0·97), respectively. For α-carotene and lycopene, borderline reduced risks were also observed; however, these were not significant. Our results further support the hypothesis that antioxidant carotenoids, especially provitamin A carotenoids, might help prevent earlier pathogenesis of non-alcoholic liver disease in Japanese subjects.