Association of Serum γ-Tocopherol Levels with Mortality: The Multiethnic Cohort Study

Authors

Weiwen Chai, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Gertraud Maskarinec, University of Hawaii Cancer Center
Adrian A. Franke, University of Hawaii Cancer Center
Kristine R. MonroeUniversity of Southern California, University of Southern California
Song-Yi Park, University of Hawaii Cancer Center
Laurence N. Kolonel, University of Hawaii Cancer Center
Lynne R. Wilkens, University of Hawaii Cancer Center
Loïc Le Marchand, University of Hawaii Cancer Center
Robert V. Cooney, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Date of this Version

12-27-2019

Citation

2019 Author(s)

Comments

Eur J Clin Nutr. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2019 December 27.

Abstract

Background/Objectives—γ-Tocopherol has unique properties that protect against nitrogen oxide-mediated cellular damage. To elucidate the potential role of γ-tocopherol in the aging process, we examined the associations of serum γ-tocopherol levels with all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Subjects/Methods—Among participants in the biorepository subcohort of the Multiethnic Cohort Study, pre-cancer diagnostic serum γ-tocopherol levels were measured in a subset of 3904 men and 4461 women. Of these, 22.7% of men and 13.5% of women died during a mean follow- up time of 9.6±2.6 years. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for mortality associated with γ-tocopherol were estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression.

Results—Positive associations of serum γ-tocopherol with all-cause, cancer and cardiovascular disease mortality (CVD) (Ptrend<0.05) were detected after adjusting for age, race-ethnicity and serum cholesterol levels. The respective HRs (95%CIs) for the highest versus the lowest sex- specific γ-tocopherol quartile were 1.43 (1.17–1.74), 1.79 (1.22–2.64), and 1.52 (1.10–2.11) for men and 1.58 (1.25–2.00), 1.59 (1.05–2.41), and 1.59 (1.07–2.37) for women. Associations remained significant for all-cause mortality among women after further adjusting for smoking variables and history of cancer, CVD, diabetes, and hypertension at cohort entry (highest vs. lowest γ-tocopherol quartile: HR=1.38; 95%CI=1.08–1.75; Ptrend= 0.005). Overall, associations with all-cause mortality were consistent across race/ethnicity and were significant in three of ten sex-specific racial/ethnic groups in the fully adjusted models with no interactions between ethnicity and γ-tocopherol.

Conclusions—The positive association between γ-tocopherol and mortality suggests a potential physiological role for γ-tocopherol in response to pathological conditions.