Antioxidant intake, oxidative stress and inflammation among immigrant women from the Middle East living in Sweden: associations with cardiovascular risk factors.
Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala Science Park, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. achraf.daryani@pubcare.uu.se
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Immigrant women from the Middle East have higher cardiovascular risk compared to native women. Whether low antioxidant intake, oxidative stress or inflammation contributes to risk is unknown. In a cross-sectional study of 157 randomly selected foreign-born women (Iranian and Turkish) and native women living in Sweden, we investigated antioxidant status, oxidative stress (F(2)-isoprostanes) and systemic inflammation (plasma high sensitive C-reactive protein; CRP) markers. We also investigated relationships between F(2)-isoprostanes, CRP and cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS AND RESULT: Dietary intake was assessed using 24-h dietary recalls repeated four times. Micronutrient intake was not consistently different between groups. Serum alpha-tocopherol, but not gamma-tocopherol levels, was lower in Turkish vs. Swedish women (P0.21, P values