Table 2.
Rate Ratios of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality by Total Carotenoid Quartiles, Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994
| Total Carotenoids1 Quartile | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quartile 1 (<1.01 µmol/L) |
Quartile 2 (1.01–1.32 µmol/L) |
Quartile 3 (1.33–1.75 µmol/L) |
Quartile 4 (>1.75 µmol/L) |
P3 | |||||
| All-cause Mortality | MRR2 | 95% CI2 | MRR | 95% CI | MRR | 95% CI | MRR | 95% CI | |
| Age- and Sex-Adjusted | 1.83 | 1.54—2.19 | 1.26 | 1.11—1.42 | 1.10 | 0.96—1.26 | 1.00 | Reference | <0.001 |
| Partially Adjusted4 | 1.43 | 1.21—1.70 | 1.09 | 0.96—1.24 | 1.03 | 0.90—1.17 | 1.00 | Reference | <0.001 |
| Fully Adjusted5 | 1.38 | 1.15—1.65 | 1.07 | 0.93—1.23 | 1.04 | 0.91—1.18 | 1.00 | Reference | 0.005 |
| CVD Mortality | |||||||||
| Age- and Sex-Adjusted | 1.43 | 1.11—1.85 | 1.13 | 0.92—1.39 | 1.02 | 0.85—1.22 | 1.00 | Reference | 0.03 |
| Partially Adjusted4 | 1.08 | 0.85—1.39 | 0.96 | 0.77—1.20 | 0.93 | 0.77—1.12 | 1.00 | Reference | 0.42 |
| Fully Adjusted5 | 1.16 | 0.89—1.50 | 1.01 | 0.82—1.25 | 1.00 | 0.82—1.22 | 1.00 | Reference | 0.53 |
| Cancer Mortality | |||||||||
| Age- and Sex-Adjusted | 1.82 | 1.35—2.46 | 1.27 | 0.85—1.89 | 1.06 | 0.74—1.51 | 1.00 | Reference | <0.001 |
| Partially Adjusted4 | 1.43 | 1.05—1.96 | 1.09 | 0.72—1.63 | 0.97 | 0.68—1.40 | 1.00 | Reference | 0.04 |
| Fully Adjusted5 | 1.32 | 0.97—1.80 | 1.02 | 0.67—1.55 | 0.94 | 0.66—1.33 | 1.00 | Reference | 0.13 |
Total carotenoids: sum of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein+zeaxanthin
MRR, mortality rate ratio; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval
Based on testing the null hypothesis that all four quartiles have equal mortality rates using survey-weighted Cox models [31].
Adjusted for demographics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, education), lifestyle behaviors (alcohol consumption, smoking status, multivitamin/multimineral use, physical activity) and body mass index
Additionally adjusted for biomarkers (diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, C-reactive protein), use of blood pressure medication, use of cholesterol-lowering medication, and comorbidities (congestive heart failure, cancer, diabetes, emphysema, stroke)