407 - Vitamin A Intake and Metabolic Outcomes among Adolescents: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

Vitamin A and retinol have potentially beneficial antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and aid in glucose homeostasis, lipid metabolism, and kidney function in adults. However, the relationship between vitamin A intake and metabolic risk factors among adolescents is not well understood.

Objective:

To assess the relationship between dietary intake of vitamin A and its derivatives (retinol, α-carotene, β-carotene) with metabolic risk factors among adolescents.

Design/Methods:

Data were obtained from participants aged 12-17 years enrolled in NHANES (2005-2014). The exposure was intake of vitamin A and its derivatives, estimated from two 24-hour dietary recalls. Outcomes included adiposity (obesity, body mass index [BMI] z-score), fasting glucose, insulin levels, dyslipidemia, glomerular hyperfiltration and serum uric acid. Dyslipidemia was defined as total cholesterol ≥200md/dL or high density lipoprotein(HDL)< 40mg/dL or low density lipoprotein(LDL) ≥130mg/dL or triglycerides ≥130mg/dL. Glomerular hyperfiltration was defined as eGFR >140mL/min/1.73 m2. Complex sample linear and logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, race, sex, BMI z-score, total daily caloric intake, and family poverty income ratio were performed to examine the association of vitamin A derivatives with outcomes of interest.

Results:

The overall mean (SE) age of the study population (n=4608) was 14.6 (0.05) years, with similar sex distribution (50.2% male). Intake of vitamin A and clinical characteristics are shown in Table 1. Greater retinol intake was associated with lower odds of obesity (OR 0.988 95%CI 0.982, 0.995) and lower uric acid (β -42.25 95%CI -71.22, -13.28) (Table 2). However, greater intake of β-carotene was associated with higher odds of obesity (OR 1.007 95%CI 1.003, 1.011). Greater vitamin A intake was also associated with higher triglycerides (β 2747.8 95%CI 38,5457.5) and greater α-carotene was associated with greater odds of dyslipidemia (OR 1.0004 95%CI 1.00001, 1.0009).

Conclusion(s):

Findings suggest that greater dietary intake of retinol is associated with lower odds of obesity and lower uric acid, however greater intake of other vitamin A derivatives are associated with worse metabolic outcomes. Further research is needed to delineate the relationship of vitamin A intake with metabolic markers in adolescents.