The association between vitamin E intake and hypertension: results from the re-analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Survey.

Recently, there has been an increasing concern about noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), in which oxidative damage plays a role. In this paper, we have re-analyzed the data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHNS) 2007 to study the relationship between an NCD (e.g. hypertension) and the dietary intake of vitamin E, a potent anti-oxidative vitamin. The inclusion criteria were those aged 40 and over, excluding pregnant or lactating women, and data from 1,405 males and 2,102 females were analyzed. The mean ages were 63.5 and 62.4, respectively. Nutrients intake was evaluated from a semi-weighted, 1-d household dietary record. When the subjects were categorized into tertiles based on their vitamin E intake, higher vitamin E intake was associated with a lower percentage of subjects with hypertension (p for trend=0.01). Subjects with higher vitamin E intake had higher energy intake-adjusted intake of other nutrients which have been considered to be related to hypertension such as potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C. Logistic regression analysis was done with the low tertile of vitamin E intake as the reference. The medium and high tertiles of vitamin E intake were associated with a significantly lower odds ratio for hypertension, 0.73 (95% CI; 0.62-0.87) for the former and 0.81 (95% CI; 0.69-0.96) for the latter. Additional analyses, one adjusted for the indices associated with hypertension and one excluding the subjects with vitamin E supplementation, have yielded the similar results. In summary, re-analysis of data from NHNS has revealed that higher vitamin E intake was significantly associated with lower prevalence of hypertension.

Distribution of vitamin E intake among Japanese dietary supplement and fortified food users: a secondary analysis from the National Health and Nutrition Survey, 2003-2009.

This study was performed to: (1) assess the prevalence of dietary supplement and fortified food use, (2) examine the differences in vitamin E intake with and without dietary supplementation and/or fortified food use, and (3) determine whether some individuals consume vitamin E above the tolerable upper intake level (UL). Data were obtained from 64,624 individuals (age, ≥1 y; 47.4% males) who completed a 1-d household dietary assessment that was part of the National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted in Japan, 2003-2009. The survey also obtained information on the brand or generic name of each dietary supplement or fortified food reported, including their ingredients, through dietary assessment. The prevalence of a potential risk of excess was estimated by the proportion of persons above the age-/sex-specific ULs provided by the Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese 2010. Supplement use was reported by 5.8% of men and 7.7% of women, whereas fortified food consumption was reported by only 2.9% of men and 3.6% of women. Use of dietary supplements was most common among older women, whereas use of fortified foods was most common among younger women. Both dietary supplement and fortified food use accounted for maximum vitamin E intake; however, the use of dietary supplements and fortified foods had little effect on the median and 95th percentile intake values. None of the subjects consumed nutrients above the UL. The collected data confirm that the use of both dietary supplements and fortified foods contributes a small amount to nutrient intake in Japanese subjects.

Dietary intake of nutrients with adequate intake values in the dietary reference intakes for Japanese.

The Adequate Intake (AI) values in the Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese (DRIs-J) 2010 were mainly determined based on the median intakes from 2 y of pooled data (2005-2006) from the National Health and Nutrition Survey-Japan (NHNS-J). However, it remains unclear whether 2 y of pooled data from the NHNS-J are appropriate for evaluating the intake of the population. To clarify the differences in nutrient intakes determined from 2 and 7 y of pooled data, we analyzed selected nutrient intake levels by sex and age groups using NHNS-J data. Intake data were obtained from 64,624 individuals (age: ≥1 y; 47.4% men) who completed a semi-weighed 1-d household dietary record that was part of the NHNS-J conducted annually in Japan from 2003 to 2009. There were no large differences between the median intakes calculated from 2 or 7 y of pooled data for n-6 or n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), vitamin D, pantothenic acid, potassium, or phosphorus. When the AI values and median intakes were compared, there was no large difference in the values for n-6 or n-3 PUFAs, pantothenic acid, or phosphorus. Conversely, the AI values for vitamin D and potassium differed from the median intakes of these nutrients for specific sex and age groups, because values were not based on NHNS-J data. Our results indicate that 2 y of pooled data from the NHNS-J adequately reflect the population's intake, and that the current system for determination of AI values will be applicable for future revisions.