Tier 3 — preclinical

Coenzyme Q10 serum concentration and redox status in European adults: influence of age, sex, and lipoprotein concentration

Petra Niklowitz, Simone Onur, Alexandra Fischer, Matthias Laudes, Michael Palussen, Thomas Menke, Frank Döring
Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition 2016 58(3):240-245

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 27257350
PubMed Central
PMC4865593
DOI
10.3164/jcbn.15-73
Funding
Supported by Elterninitiative Tumorkranker Kinder e.V. der Vestischen Kinderklinik Datteln; Peter und Ruth Wirts Stiftung; German Ministry for Education and Research grants supporting the popgen 2.0 and FoCus cohorts; CoQ10 status determination/analysis was supported by Kaneka Corporation, Japan.
Competing interests
The authors disclosed no potential conflicts of interest. Kaneka Corporation supported determination and analysis of CoQ10 status in the study population.

Study snapshot

DesignCross-sectional observational cohort with a short supplementation substudy
ModelEuropean adults aged 18–82 years; supplemental reduced-CoQ10 substudy in 53 male volunteers
Sample860 adults in the age/sex analysis; 53 men in a 14-day ubiquinol supplementation substudy
InterventionMain study observational; substudy used reduced CoQ10 (ubiquinol) 150 mg/day for 14 days
DurationCross-sectional main analysis; 14-day supplementation substudy
EndpointsSerum total CoQ10 concentration; Cholesterol-adjusted CoQ10; CoQ10 redox status; Association with age; Association with sex; Association with lipoprotein/cholesterol concentration; Change after 14 days of ubiquinol in substudy

What the study showed, in plain terms

This study measured serum CoQ10 in 860 European adults aged 18–82 years. Instead of finding a simple straight-line decline across adulthood, the researchers observed an inverse U-shaped relationship: circulating CoQ10 varied with age, then was lower again in older participants.

Older adults also had a higher proportion of CoQ10 in the oxidized state, suggesting a less favorable circulating redox profile. Women had lower cholesterol-adjusted CoQ10 concentrations than men across ages.

Because serum CoQ10 strongly tracks circulating lipoproteins and cholesterol, these results should not be interpreted as proof that every older person is CoQ10-deficient. Tissue concentrations and serum concentrations are related but not interchangeable.

Key findings

Across 860 adults aged 18–82, serum CoQ10 concentration followed an inverse U-shaped relationship with age rather than a simple linear decline.

Older participants showed both lower circulating CoQ10 concentrations and a shift toward a greater oxidized proportion of CoQ10.

Women had lower cholesterol-adjusted CoQ10 levels than men irrespective of age.

Total CoQ10 was strongly positively correlated with cholesterol (Spearman p≤1×10^-74), demonstrating why raw serum CoQ10 should be interpreted alongside lipoprotein status.

Cholesterol-adjusted CoQ10 was strongly inversely correlated with the oxidized proportion (Spearman p≤1×10^-14). A 53-man substudy found that 150 mg/day ubiquinol for 14 days increased CoQ10 status and attenuated the unfavorable redox pattern.

What this study can and cannot tell us

The main analysis is cross-sectional, so age-group differences cannot prove that an individual’s CoQ10 level will follow the same trajectory as they age.

Serum CoQ10 is heavily influenced by lipoprotein concentration and is not a direct measurement of mitochondrial or tissue CoQ10 deficiency.

The supplementation substudy included only 53 men, lasted 14 days and assessed circulating biochemical outcomes rather than symptoms or clinical events.

Kaneka Corporation supported CoQ10-status determination and analysis, although the authors disclosed no potential conflicts of interest.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology