Vitamin E and smoking and the risk of lung cancer.
The hypotheses that the antioxidant vitamin E provides protection against lung cancer and that this hypothetical protection is modified by smoking status were investigated using two different study designs--a cohort study and a nested case-control study--among Finnish men aged 15 years and over. In the cohort study the association between vitamin E intake and lung cancer risk was studied among 5,254 individuals with 121 lung cancer cases that occurred during a 19-year follow-up, and in the nested case-control study the association between serum vitamin E level and lung cancer risk was studied using 144 lung cancer cases and 270 matched controls as a basis. There was a significant inverse association between vitamin E status and lung cancer occurrence among nonsmokers but not among smokers in both designs. The relative risk of lung cancer between the lowest and highest tertiles of vitamin E intake was 3.3 among nonsmokers and 0.8 among smokers. The corresponding results for serum vitamin E were 6.6 and 0.8, respectively. Nonsmokers with simultaneously low serum levels of vitamin E and other micronutrients (i.e., beta-carotene, retinol and selenium) had a 12-fold greater risk of lung cancer in comparison with men having more satisfactory levels. The corresponding number among smokers was three. The results suggest that vitamin E status is primarily associated with lung cancer risk among nonsmokers. Firm conclusions can, however, be drawn only on the basis of intervention trials.
Unit of Cancer Epidemiology, Radiumhemmet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012307:Risk Factors; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood; D019207:beta Carotene
D019207:beta Carotene; D014801:Vitamin A; D014810:Vitamin E; D002338:Carotenoids; D012643:Selenium