Background/Aims

Our objective was to assess associations between passive smoke exposure in various venues and serum carotenoid concentrations.

Methods

CARDIA is an ongoing longitudinal study of the risk factors for subclinical and clinical cardiovascular disease. At baseline in 1985/1986, serum carotenoids were assayed and passive smoke exposure inside and outside of the home and diet were assessed by self-report. Our analytic sample consisted of 2,633 black and white non-smoking adults aged 18–30 years.

Results

Greater total passive smoke exposure was associated with lower levels of the sum of the three provitamin A carotenoids, α-carotene, β-carotene, and β-cryptoxanthin (–0.048 nmol/l per hour of passive smoke exposure, p = 0.001), unassociated with lutein/zeaxanthin, and associated with higher levels of lycopene (0.027 nmol/l per hour of passive smoke exposure, p = 0.010) after adjustment for demographics, diet, lipid profile, and supplement use. Exposure in both home and non-home spaces was also associated with lower levels of the provitamin A carotenoid index.

Conclusion

Cross-sectionally, in 1985/86, passive smoke exposure in various venues was associated with reduced levels of provitamin A serum carotenoids.