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Abstract
A case‐control study was undertaken to determine the dietary intake of vitamin A in women having abnormal uterocervical cytology. The study groups (87 cases and 82 controls) were drawn from a population of women who received a screening Pap test in the ambulatory health care section of a large municipal hospital center. A subset of cases (with abnormal cytology) were matched to controls for age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and parity. Nutrient intake and retinol binding protein concentrations were determined; epidemiological data were also obtained.
It was found that the subset of cases with severe dysplasia or carcinoma in situ (CIS) were more likely to have a total dietary vitamin A intake below the pooled median (3,450 IU) and/or a β‐carotene intake below the pooled median (2,072 IU) than were normal controls (p <0.05 andp <0.025, respectively). Odds ratios revealed approximately a 3‐fold greater risk for severe dysplasia or CIS in women with lowered vitamin A or β‐carotene intake. In addition, retinol binding protein was either absent or undetectable in 78.8% of the dysplastic tissue samples, versus 23.5% of the normal tissue samples (p < 0.005).
