title: Assessment of vitamin A status in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients and healthy smokers.
abstract: The relation between vitamin A status and the degree of lung airway obstruction was examined in a cross-sectional study of 36 male subjects aged 43-74 y who were assigned to five groups as follows: healthy nonsmokers (n = 7), healthy smokers (n = 7), mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD-mild) patients (n = 9), COPD-moderate-severe patients (n = 7), and COPD-moderate-severe patients with exacerbation (+ex; n = 6). Smoking habits, pulmonary function tests, energy-protein status were assessed; serum concentrations of retinyl esters, retinol, retinol binding protein, and transthyretin and relative dose responses were measured. In addition, 12 male smokers aged 45-61 y with mild COPD were randomly assigned to two groups for a longitudinal study: six subjects consumed vitamin A (1000 RE/d; COPD-vitamin A) and six subjects received placebo for 30 d. Lowered serum retinol concentrations were found in the COPD-moderate-severe and COPD-moderate-severe+ex groups. Measurements of vitamin A status in healthy smokers and in COPD-mild patients were not different from those in healthy nonsmokers. The improvement of pulmonary function test results after vitamin A supplementation [mean increase for 1-s forced expiratory volume (FEV1) = 22.9% in the COPD-vitamin A group] may support the assumption of a local (respiratory) vitamin A deficiency in patients with this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of Botucatu UNESP, Brazil.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Godoy
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vannucchi
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Fávaro
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Geraldo
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Campana
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007408:Intestinal Absorption / Q000502:physiology; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000097:blood* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012907:Smoking; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A; D002338:Carotenoids