ResearchCurrent ResearchFruit and Vegetable Consumption and Its Relation to Markers of Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Adolescents
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Study Population
Approval for this study was obtained from the University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board Human Subjects Committee. Consent for participation was obtained from all participants and their parents or guardians.
Participant recruitment and study methods have been described in detail previously (30). Briefly, after blood pressure screening of 12,043 fifth- to eighth-grade Minneapolis, MN, public school students, 500 study participants were randomly selected by strata of sex, race (black or
Results
The cohort included 155 boys and 130 girls, aged 15±1.2 years; 20% were African American. Physical characteristics and laboratory data are shown in Table 1. Tanner stage and BMI were similar for boys and girls and no significant differences were found between sexes for CRP, TNF-α, and IL-6. However, PGF2α metabolite, and F2-isoprostanes were significantly greater in girls than boys (P=0.003 and P=0.004, respectively).
Study participants consumed an average of 5.5±0.3 servings (about 2.75 cups)
Discussion
In this study of adolescents, a diet high in fruit and vegetables and, therefore, rich in antioxidants, folate, and flavonoids, was associated with lower levels of markers for inflammation and oxidative stress. These results show that increased consumption of fruit and vegetables and, therefore, antioxidant and flavonoid intake, begin to have an effect on markers of inflammation and oxidative stress early in life, and suggest that with an ongoing similar pattern of consumption, these beneficial
Conclusion
Evidence is accumulating that suggests low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress predicts an increased risk for chronic disease in adults (29, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54) and adolescence (26, 78). As shown in the present study, fruit and vegetable intake was associated with lower concentrations of systemic oxidative stress and inflammation in adolescents, which is similar to studies in adults (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Anti-inflammatory mechanisms, such as dietary antioxidants, may inhibit
E. M. Holt is an epidemiologist, Hennepin County Public Health Department, Hopkins, MN; at the time of the study, she was a student in the Master of Public Health Program, Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis
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E. M. Holt is an epidemiologist, Hennepin County Public Health Department, Hopkins, MN; at the time of the study, she was a student in the Master of Public Health Program, Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis
L. M. Steffen is an associate professor of epidemiology and C.-P. Hong is a senior analyst/programmer, Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis
A. Moran is professor and division chief, Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, J. Steinberger is an associate professor of pediatrics and chair of Pediatric Cardiology, J. A. Ross is professor and director, Division of Pediatric Epidemiology & Clinical Research, and A. R. Sinaiko is a professor, all with the Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis
S. Basu is an associate professor, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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