The Associations Between Serum Vitamins and Carotenoids with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Results from the NHANES

Purpose: Vitamins and carotenoids are essential in preventing and treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study investigated the associations between serum vitamins, carotenoids, and COPD in adults aged > 40 years in the United States.Methods: We selected 3487 participants aged >40 from the NHANES (2017-2018) and used demographic analysis, sensitivity tests, and different weighted multivariate regression models to investigate the relationship between serum vitamins, carotenoids, and COPD. Results: Subjects in the highest tertile of serum vitamin C, vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), alpha-carotene, trans-0-carotene, and cis-0-carotene had a 50%, 35%, 51%, 54%, and 51% lower risk of COPD than those in the lowest tertile (P for trend: P=0.0005, <0.0001, 0.0054, 0.0066, and 0.0049). Unfortunately, no significant correlation was found for serum vitamin D levels.Conclusion: Our analysis of nationally representative data from 3487 participants showed that serum levels of vitamin C, vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), alpha-carotene, and 0-carotene were negatively associated with the incidence of COPD in adults over 40 years of age in the US The findings highlighted the importance of antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids in respiratory health, while the data showed no significant correlation between vitamin D (25-OHD) and the incidence of COPD.