Association of Serum Alpha-Tocopherol and Retinol with the Extent of Coronary Lesions in Coronary Artery Disease

Background and aims: Fat-soluble vitamins play an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and progression of atherosclerosis. This study aimed at investigating the relationship of the serum levels of alpha-tocopherol and retinol with the extent of coronary lesions in patients with coronary artery disease. Methods. Patients with coronary artery disease (n = 177) aged 30-74 years, who underwent their first coronary angiography, were enrolled. The extent of coronary lesions was assessed using the Friesinger index (FI). Accordingly, patients were grouped as follows: FI = 0-4 (n = 90), FI = 5-9 (n = 50), and FI = 10-15 (n = 37). Serum levels of vitamins were determined via high-performance liquid chromatography and serum biochemical analysis. Results. Assessment of FI-based groups revealed that 50.8% patients had a coronary artery lesion to a low extent (FI 0-4). Individuals in this group were younger and had lower glucose and serum alpha-tocopherol levels than the other groups (p < 0.05). Low levels of alpha-tocopherol were more frequent in the FI 0-4 group than that in the other groups (p = 0.03). No difference was observed between the mean serum retinol levels among the FI-based groups (n = 0.492), and the low frequency of retinol was consistent among the FI groups (n = 0.348). Conclusions. The low level of alpha-tocopherol together with the presence of dyslipidemia is probably associated with the initial events in atherosclerosis. Increased alpha-tocopherol levels in patients with more extensive coronary artery lesions may have resulted from altered vitamin E metabolism with increased oxidative stress.