Vitamin C and risk of coronary heart disease in women.
OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to prospectively examine the relation between vitamin C intake and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in women.


BACKGROUND
Results from prospective investigations of the relation between vitamin C intake and risk of CHD have been inconsistent. The lack of clear evidence for a protective association despite a plausible mechanism indicates the need to evaluate further the association between vitamin C intake and risk of CHD.


METHODS
In 1980, 85,118 female nurses completed a detailed semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire that assessed their consumption of vitamin C and other nutrients. Nurses were followed up for 16 years for the development of incident CHD (nonfatal myocardial infarction and fatal CHD).


RESULTS
During 16 years of follow-up (1,240,566 person-years), we identified 1,356 incident cases of CHD. After adjustment for age, smoking, and a variety of other coronary risk factors, we observed a modest significant inverse association between total intake of vitamin C and risk of CHD (relative risk [RR] = 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.57 to 0.94). Among women who did not use vitamin C supplements or multivitamins, the association between intake of vitamin C from diet alone and incidence of CHD was weak and not significant (RR = 0.86; 95% CI 0.59 to 1.26). In multivariate models adjusting for age, smoking, and a variety of other coronary risk factors, vitamin C supplement use was associated with a significantly lower risk of CHD (RR = 0.72; 95% CI 0.61 to 0.86).


CONCLUSIONS
Users of vitamin C supplements appear to be at lower risk for CHD.
Osganian
Stavroula K
SK
Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. stavroula.osganian@TCH.harvard.edu
Stampfer
Meir J
MJ
Rimm
Eric
E
Spiegelman
Donna
D
Hu
Frank B
FB
Manson
JoAnn E
JE
Willett
Walter C
WC
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018890:Chemoprevention; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000150:complications; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D015994:Incidence; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D016387:Women's Health
D000975:Antioxidants; D001205:Ascorbic Acid