Low Plasma Lycopene Concentration Is Associated With Increased Intima-Media Thickness of the Carotid Artery Wall

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Abstract
—Although a number of epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between β-carotene and the risk of cardiovascular diseases, there has been little research on the role of lycopene, an acyclic form of β-carotene, with regard to the risk of cardiovascular disease. We investigated the relationship between plasma concentrations of lycopene and intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery wall (CCA-IMT) in 520 middle-aged men and women (aged 45 to 69 years) in eastern Finland. They were examined from 1994 to 1995 at the baseline of the Antioxidant Supplementation in Atherosclerosis Prevention (ASAP) study, a randomized trial concerning the effect of vitamin E and C supplementation on atherosclerotic progression. The subjects were classified into 2 categories according to the median concentration of plasma lycopene (0.12 μmol/L in men and 0.15 μmol/L in women). Mean CCA-IMT of the right and left common carotid arteries was 1.18 mm in men and 0.95 mm in women with plasma lycopene level...