ArticlePublic health nutrition2018
A non-invasive assessment of skin carotenoid status through reflection spectroscopy is a feasible, reliable and potentially valid measure of fruit and vegetable consumption in a diverse community sample.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 83 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic Review of Reflection Spectroscopy-Based Skin Carotenoid Assessment in Children.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of studies examining associations between resonance Raman spectroscopy-assessed skin carotenoids and plasma carotenoids among adults and children.Nutrition reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Criterion-Related Validity of Spectroscopy-Based Skin Carotenoid Measurements as a Proxy for Fruit and Vegetable Intake: A Systematic Review.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Pooled it
- A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Loss versus Gain Incentives to Improve Adherence to an Obesity Treatment Intervention in Adolescents.Nutrients · 2024Trial
- Recipe for Heart Health: A Randomized Crossover Trial on Cardiometabolic Effects of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Within a Whole-Food Plant-Based Vegan Diet.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2024Trial
- Examining Potential Modifiers of Human Skin and Plasma Carotenoid Responses in a Randomized Trial of a Carotenoid-Containing Juice Intervention.The Journal of nutrition · 2023Trial
- Evaluation of a Commercial Device Based on Reflection Spectroscopy as an Alternative to Resonance Raman Spectroscopy in Measuring Skin Carotenoid Levels: Randomized Controlled Trial.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Trial
- Goji Berry Intake Increases Macular Pigment Optical Density in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Pilot Trial.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Carotenoids in the Context of the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern: From Food Matrix and Bioavailability to Biomarkers and Human Health.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Article
- Bringing WISE Home: Feasibility and Effectiveness of a Preschool Nutrition Curriculum in Rural Home Visits.Journal of nutrition education and behavior · 2026Article
- Validation of Noninvasive Cutaneous Carotenoid Measurements as Nutritional Biomarker Across Body Composition Groups.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Reflection Spectroscopy Skin Carotenoids Correlate with Serum Carotenoids in School-Aged Children.The Journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Skin Carotenoid Score Level and Race Affect Intradevice Repeatability of Veggie Meter® at a Single Time Point.Journal of nutrition education and behavior · 2026Article
- Article
- Blood and skin carotenoid levels are inversely associated with the prevalence of periodontal diseases in populations with normal occlusion: a cross-sectional analysis from the Iwaki health promotion project.Nutrition journal · 2026Article
- Food-Body-Mind study protocol: A mindfulness-based lifestyle intervention to promote whole child health among preschoolers from economically marginalized families.Contemporary clinical trials · 2026Article
- Examining intra- and inter-device reliability of pressure-mediated reflection spectroscopy in a multi-state sample of healthy adults.Public health nutrition · 2025Article
- Serum and Skin Carotenoid Levels in Older Adults with and Without Metabolic Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Strong Families Start at Home/Familias Fuertes Comienzan en Casa-Improving Child Diet Quality and Parental Feeding Practices: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the feasibility, reliability and validity of reflection spectroscopy (RS) to assess skin carotenoids in a racially diverse sample.
designStudy 1 was a cross-sectional study of corner store customers (n 479) who completed the National Cancer Institute Fruit and Vegetable Screener as well as RS measures. Feasibility was assessed by examining the time it took to complete three RS measures, reliability was assessed by examining the variation between three RS measures, and validity was examined by correlation with self-reported fruit and vegetable consumption. In Study 2, validity was assessed in a smaller sample (n 30) by examining associations between RS measures and dietary carotenoids, fruits and vegetables as calculated from a validated FFQ and plasma carotenoids.
settingEastern North Carolina, USA.
resultsIt took on average 94·0 s to complete three RS readings per person. The average variation between three readings for each participant was 6·8 %. In Study 2, in models adjusted for age, race and sex, there were statistically significant associations between RS measures and (i) FFQ-estimated carotenoid intake (P<0·0001); (ii) FFQ-estimated fruit and vegetable consumption (P<0·010); and (iii) plasma carotenoids (P<0·0001).
conclusionsRS is a potentially improved method to approximate fruit and vegetable consumption among diverse participants. RS is portable and easy to use in field-based public health nutrition settings. More research is needed to investigate validity and sensitivity in diverse populations.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.