title: Dietary vitamin C and beta-carotene and risk of death in middle-aged men. The Western Electric Study.
abstract: In the Western Electric Company Study, carried out in Chicago, Illinois, data on diet and other factors were obtained in 1958 and 1959 for a cohort of 1,556 employed, middle-aged men. Nutrients included vitamin C and beta-carotene. An index that summarized combined intake of both nutrients was constructed. Mean intakes of vitamin C in the lowest and highest tertiles of the index were 66 and 138 mg/day; corresponding values for beta-carotene were 2.3 and 5.3 mg/day. A total of 522 of 1,556 men died during 32,935 person-years of follow-up, 231 from coronary heart disease and 155 from cancer. After adjustment for potentially confounding factors, relative risks (95% confidence intervals) associated with an increment of 19 points in the index (difference between means of the lowest and highest tertiles) were 0.60 (0.39-0.93) for cancer mortality, 0.70 (0.49-0.98) for coronary disease mortality, and 0.69 (0.55-0.87) for all-cause mortality. These results support the hypothesis that consumption of foods rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene reduces risk of death in middle-aged men.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston 77030, USA.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shekelle
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Selwyn
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tangney
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stamler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002641:Chicago / Q000453:epidemiology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000401:mortality; D004032:Diet; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012307:Risk Factors; D013689:Telephone; D019207:beta Carotene
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D019207:beta Carotene; D002338:Carotenoids; D001205:Ascorbic Acid