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Vitamins C, E linked to metabolic syndrome in older Ecuadorians
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Metabolic syndrome was prevalent in about 40% of an elderly, low-income, urban community in Ecuador, and a poor diet low in micronutrients appeared to contribute, according to results of an epidemiological study.
“In this population of low-income Ecuadorians, we observed a pattern of high-carbohydrate, high-sodium diets lacking in healthy fats and good sources of protein. Our blood analyses indicate a significant number of participants weren’t consuming enough of a range of micronutrients,” Simin Nikbin Meydani, PhD, director of the USDA HNRCA and the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory at the US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, said in a press release. “After adjusting for age and sex, we observed significant relationships between the metabolic syndrome and two of the micronutrients — vitamins C and E.”
Cross-sectional study
The study enrolled 225 women and 127 men aged 65 years and older who were living in low-income neighborhoods in Quito, Ecuador. Meydani and colleagues examined the relationship between metabolic syndrome and several micronutrients. Participants reported their food intake in bi-weekly interviews and provided blood samples. The International Diabetes Foundation definition was used to determine which participants had metabolic syndrome.
Of the 40% who had metabolic syndrome, a disproportionate number of women were affected (81% vs. 19% of men), which the researchers attributed to more of the women being overweight. Despite not being categorized as having metabolic syndrome, 53% of the population exhibited two or more of the syndrome’s individual components.
Micronutrient deficiencies — vitamin C, vitamin B12, zinc and folate — were prevalent among the participants. Particularly, concentrations of vitamin C (OR=0.78; 95% CI, 0.71-0.86) and vitamin E (OR=0.16; 95% CI, 0.03-0.81) were inversely associated with metabolic syndrome.
“As a group, the participants did not exhibit low blood levels of vitamin E. The association suggests that having higher blood levels of vitamin E may protect against the metabolic syndrome,” Meydani said in the release. However, with the low blood levels of vitamin C that were seen in 82% of the participants, the researchers suspect it may be due to limited intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. The bulk of the participants’ calories came from white rice, potatoes, sugar and white bread.
Additionally, the researchers reported a significant positive association between metabolic syndrome and C-reactive protein (OR=1.79; 95% CI, 1.04-3.06). Elevated C-reactive protein blood concentrations were observed in almost half of the population.
The researchers noted that 55% of the women and 33% of the men were overweight at the study start.
Effect of a cultural diet
These results build on the researchers’ previous observational study, which noted a high prevalence of two metabolic risk factors — low HDL and elevated waist circumference — in this population of older, low-income Ecuadorians.
“Our data suggest that limited consumption of nutrient-dense foods such as chicken, vegetables and legumes makes this small population of Ecuadorian elders even more susceptible to metabolic syndrome,” Meydani said in the release.
The proportion of the Latin American population aged 60 years and older is projected to double during the next few decades, the researchers said.
“To our knowledge, there are few studies of the metabolic syndrome in Latin America,” Meydani said in the release. “Additional research is needed to affirm that there is a relationship between vitamins C and E intake and the metabolic syndrome and CRP and the metabolic syndrome. This requires interventional studies in larger, more economically diverse populations of older Latin American men and women.”
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Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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