Vitamins A and E status in an urban Lebanese population: a case study at Dar Al-Fatwa area, Beirut.

Vitamin A and E status are widely studied in various populations because of their association with several diseases. Fasting plasma vitamin A and E status of 857 Lebanese adults residing in Dar Al-Fatwa, Beirut were assessed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Mean retinol and alpha-tocopherol concentrations were 59.8 +/- 29 microg/dL and 1.0 +/- 0.5 mg/dL, respectively in which only 0.2% were retinol-deficient, while 0.7% were alpha-tocopherol-deficient. Vitamin A and E correlated positively with plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, and triglycerides. Vitamin E, but not vitamin A, correlated positively with blood pressure and glucose. A good status of vitamins A and E was found among the studied Lebanese sample and the elevation in vitamin A and E levels was associated with unfavorable lipid profile.