Medication intake is associated with lower plasma carotenoids and higher fat-soluble vitamins in the cross-sectional mark-age study in older individuals

The regular use of medication may interfere with micronutrient metabolism on several levels, such as absorption, turnover rate, and tissue distribution, and this might be amplified during aging. This study evaluates the impact of self-reported medication intake on plasma micronutrients in the MARK-AGE Project, a cross-sectional observational study in 2217 subjects (age-and sex-stratified) aged 35–75 years from six European countries that were grouped according to age. Polypharmacy as possible determinant of micronutrient concentrations was assessed using multiple linear regression models adjusted for age-group, dietary fruit, vegetables, and juice intake, and other confounders. Younger participants reported taking fewer drugs than older participants. Inverse associations between medication intake and lutein (−3.31% difference per increase in medication group), β-carotene (−11.44%), α-carotene (−8.50%) and positive associations with retinol (+2.26%), α-tocopherol/cholesterol (+2.89%) and γ-tocopherol/cholesterol (+1.36%) occurred in multiple adjusted regression models. Combined usage of a higher number of medical drugs was associated with poorer status of carotenoids on the one hand and higher plasma concentrations of retinol, α-and γ-tocopherol on the other hand. Our results raise concerns regarding the safety of drug combinations via the significant and surprisingly multifaceted disturbance of the concentrations of relevant micronutrients.