Skin carotenoid status measured by resonance Raman spectroscopy as a biomarker of fruit and vegetable intake in preschool children

Update Item Information
Publication Type pre-print
School or College School of Medicine
Department Ophthalmology
Creator Bernstein, Paul S.
Other Author Scarmo, Stephanie; Kennedy, Kerah; Peracchio, Heather; Cartmel, Brenda; Lin, Haiqun; Ermakov, Igor V.; Gellermann, Werner; Duffy, Valerie B.; Mayne, Susan T.
Title Skin carotenoid status measured by resonance Raman spectroscopy as a biomarker of fruit and vegetable intake in preschool children
Date 2012-01-01
Description Background/Objective: Dietary assessment in children is difficult, suggesting a need to develop more objective biomarkers of intake. Resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS) is a noninvasive, validated method of measuring carotenoid status in skin as a biomarker of fruit/vegetable intake. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of using RRS in preschool children, including describing the inter-individual variability in skin carotenoid status and to identify factors associated with the biomarker in this population. Subjects/Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 381 economically-disadvantaged preschoolers in urban centers in Connecticut (U.S.). 85.5% were black non-Hispanic or Hispanic/Latino, and 14.1% were obese and 16.9% were overweight by age- and sex-specific BMI percentiles. Children had their skin carotenoid status assessed by RRS in the palm of the hand. Fruit/vegetable consumption was assessed by a brief parent/guardian-completed food frequency screener and a liking survey. Results: We observed inter-individual variation in RRS values that was nearly normally distributed. In multiple regression analysis, higher carotenoid status, measured by RRS, was positively associated with fruit/vegetable consumption (p=0.02) and fruit/vegetable preference (p<0.01). Lower carotenoid status was observed among younger children, those participating in the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and those with greater adiposity (p<0.05 for all). Conclusions: We observed wide variability in skin carotenoid status in a population of young children, as assessed by RRS. Parent-reported fruit/vegetable intake and several demographic factors were significantly associated with RRS-measured skin carotenoid status. We recommend further development of this biomarker in children, including evaluating response to controlled interventions.
Type Text
Publisher Nature Publishing Group
Volume 66
Issue 5
First Page 555
Last Page 560
Language eng
Bibliographic Citation Scarmo, S., Kennedy, K., Peracchio, H., Cartmel, B., Lin, H., Ermakov, I. V., Gellermann, W., Bernstein, P. S., Duffy, V. B., & Mayne, S. T. (2012). Skin carotenoid status measured by resonance Raman spectroscopy as a biomarker of fruit and vegetable intake in preschool children. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 66(5), 555-60.
Rights Management (c) Nature Publishing Group; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2012.31.
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 1,520,074 bytes
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Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qr5fzf