The following article was found at www.reutershealth.com


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Plasma vitamin C levels correlate inversely with all-cause
mortality risk


WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) - Results of a prospective
population study, published in the March 3rd issue of The
Lancet, show that even a small increase in vitamin C intake
can significantly reduce all-cause mortality.

Dr. Kay-Tee Khaw from the University of Cambridge School of
Clinical Medicine in UK and colleagues collected data on
19,496 men and women 45 to 79 years of age who were
participants in the Norfolk (UK) arm of the European
Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)
study.

Subjects were divided into sex-specific quintiles based upon
their plasma concentrations of vitamin C. Across the
quintiles, the plasma ascorbic acid concentrations for men
ranged from a low of 20.9 micromol/L to a high of 73.3
micromol/L and for women the range was 29.2 micromol/L to
86.0 micromol/L.

The subjects were followed for about 4 years and causes of
death documented. For both men and women in the highest
vitamin C quintile, the risk of mortality due to all causes,
cardiovascular disease and ischemic heart disease was about
50% less than in subjects in the lowest quintile, Dr. Khaw's
group found. "Ascorbic acid was inversely related to cancer
morality in men but not women," they add.

Overall, a 20% reduction in all-cause mortality risk was
associated with an increase in plasma vitamin C
concentration of 20 micromol, which is about a 50-gram
increase in vitamin C a day from fruits and vegetables, the
investigators note.

"Our findings suggest that an increase in dietary intake of
foods rich in ascorbic acid might have benefits for
cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in men and
women and add to the large amount of evidence that lends
support to the health benefits of fruit and vegetable
intake. Small and feasible changes within the normal
population range of intake could have a large effect," Dr.
Khaw said in a journal statement.

Lancet 2001;357:657-663.

-Westport Newsroom 203 319 2700

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