Carrot and carotene and multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of the evidence

Yi X, Li J, Liao D, Peng G, Zheng X, Xu H, Zhang T, Ai J · Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture · 2023 January 17

DOI 10.1002/jsfa.12425

Objective

The purpose of this umbrella review was to identify the associations between carrots and carotene and multiple health outcomes.

Conclusions

Carrot intake was associated with a lower risk of multiple cancer outcomes including breast cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, urothelial cancer, and prostate cancer. Carotene intake was associated with a lower risk of fracture, age-related cataract, sunburn, Alzheimer's disease, breast cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, prostate cancer, and head and neck cancer. Serum carotene was inversely associated with all-cause mortality, breast cancer, and lung cancer. Our study revealed that carrot or carotene intake could reduce the risk of various negative health outcomes.

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Insights

Carrot and carotene consumption could diminish the risk of a wide range of negative health consequences, including multiple types of cancer.

An umbrella review methodology was adopted to identify connections between carrot and carotene intake and various health outcomes. We turned to databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase to find the needed data. The analysis included the collected evidence from both interventional and observational studies that focused on carrots, carotene, and any related health impact. To estimate the summary effect size for each correlation, both random and fixed effects models were employed. The study reviewed a total of 1329 studies and utilized the data from 30 meta-analyses with 26 health outcomes that fit the eligibility requirements. These featured outcomes related to various types of cancer, fractures, age-related cataract, sunburn, and Alzheimer's disease. The associations were analyzed between the health outcomes and the intake of carrots, intake of carotene, and serum carotene levels.