Vitamin E status in a group of elderly people from Madrid.

Background: Given that vitamin E plays an important role in the prevention of pathological processes frequently observed in older age, it is of special interest to evaluate the nutritional situation of this population with respect to this vitamin.

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional situation with respect to vitamin E in a group of elderly individuals from Madrid, Spain.

Design: The vitamin E status of a group of 120, independently-living elderly people was investigated. All included subjects (i.e., those for whom it was possible to determine vitamin E status) belonged to a sample of 158 elderly volunteers, subjects of a larger nutritional study. A 5-day food record (including a Sunday) was kept in order to monitor food intake. Serum levels of alpha-tocopherol were determined by HPLC.

Results: Some 95.2% of subjects showed intakes below those recommended; 86.7% did not even meet 66% of the recommended values. At serum level, subjects showed alpha-tocopherol values of 8.3+/-3.6 mg/L, with no differences between men and women (8.5+/-3.6 mg/l in men and 8.2+/-3.6 mg/L in women). Some 51.7% (52.4% of men and 51.3% of women) showed levels below 7.8 mg/L; 17.5% (14.3% of men and 19.2% of women) showed values of 5 mg/L. The influence of the diet at the biochemical level can be seen in that those subjects with intakes lower than 50% of the recommended who showed significantly lower serum levels (7.8+/-3.4 mg/L) that those with greater intakes (9.3+/-4.2 mg/L). This difference was independent of serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Subjects with coefficients of vitamin E (mg)/polyunsaturated fatty acids (g) (E/AGP) below the 5 th percentile (0.32) had significantly lower serum alpha-tocopherol levels (5.3+/-1.1 mg/L) than did subjects with E/AGP>or= 0.32 (8.5+/-3.7 mg/L).

Conclusion: Given the importance of vitamin E as an antioxidant, and its role in the prevention of a range of pathological processes, insufficient intakes (frequently detected in the group studied) should be corrected.