Skin Carotenoids as Biomarkers of Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Obesity-Related Anthropometric Measures

than other time points in the pregnant women (p< 0.01).The effect of time significantly differed by pregnancy status for serum lutein, zeaxanthin, and -cryptoxanthin (p< 0.0001, all) and lycopene concentrations (p< 0.05), with serum carotenoid increases across pregnancy but not in the non-pregnant state.There was no significant difference in serum -/-carotene concentrations nor skin or macular carotenoids by pregnancy status or time points.Conclusions: Serum concentrations of some but not all carotenoids significantly differed by pregnancy status and/or time points, and this was not explained by changes in dietary intake.Additional research examining the determinants and consequences of maternal carotenoid status is warranted.