Skin Carotenoid Levels as a Biomarker of Overall Health

TITLE: Skin carotenoid levels associated with a comprehensive health survey: The USU Wellness Expo AUTHOR(S): Elizabeth King, Linzy Peterson Background: Carotenoids are pigments found in fruits and vegetables that are important bioactive nutrients for humans. Current research suggests lower risk for mortality and chronic diseases with higher dietary intake of fruits and vegetables. Concentration of skin carotenoids is correlated with fruit and vegetable intake in adults. This study looked at the correlation between skin carotenoid levels and overall health status. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between a composite indicator of overall health and levels of skin carotenoids among participants of the USU Wellness Expo. Setting: Utah State University, Winter, 2017 Methods: Adult volunteers (n=167) attending the Expo completed an electronic survey with 50 questions about their overall health. Categories included physical activity, nutrition, general health, safety, social and environmental wellness, emotional awareness, mental wellness, intellectual wellness, occupational wellness, and values, spirituality, and beliefs. Each person had weight and height measured, BMI calculated, and body fat measured using the Omron Bio-Impedance Scale. The BioPhotonic S3 scanner was used to measure skin carotenoid levels for each individual. Pearson correlation examined associations of scanner level and total health score. ANOVA was used to examine associations of quartiles of the total health score, total diet sub-score, and total physical activity sub-score with scanner level. Results: As total health score, diet score, and physical activity score increased, scanner score increased (p≤0.001, p≤0.001, p≤0.003, respectively). Total health score and scanner score had a small but significant correlation (r=0.31, p=0.001). Conclusion: These results suggest that skin carotenoid levels may be a valuable biomarker of total health. Further research is warranted