Lower serum levels of beta-carotene in Lithuanian men are accompanied by higher urinary excretion of the oxidative DNA adduct, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine: The LiVicordia study

OBJECTIVE: In 1995, middle-aged Lithuanian men had a four-fold higher risk than Swedish men of dying from coronary heart disease. The cross-sectional LiVicordia study had reported significantly lower levels of, the lipid-soluble antioxidants lycopene, beta-carotene, and gamma-tocopherol among Lithuanian men than among Swedish men. We examined whether there were differences in urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a marker of oxidative stress, between these groups of men. METHODS: Using automated coupled column high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, we examined 50-y-old men randomly sampled from Linkoping, Sweden (n = 99) and Vilnius, Lithuania (n = 109) with regard to urinary concentrations of 8-OHdG. RESULTS: Levels of 8-OHdG were higher in the Lithuanian men than in the Swedish men (20.9 +/- 0.91 versus 14.9 +/- 0.75 nM/L, P < 0.001), and this difference was evident in smokers (P < 0.01) and non-smokers (P < 0.001). Serum levels of alpha- and beta-carotene were. inversely correlated to urinary 8-OHdG levels (P < 0.05 in both cases). Habitual smoking and low levels of beta-carotene contributed significantly to higher oxidative DNA damage expressed as urinary 8-OHdG. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that increased urinary 8-OHdG levels accompany lower serum levels of antioxidants in Lithuanian men. They supported previous suggestions that increased oxidative stress may be one factor behind the higher mortality in Lithuanian men. (C)Elsevier Science Inc. 2003.