|
VITAMIN
E RESEARCH: MEDIA ALERT
15.03.05
The
March 16 issue of the Journal
of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports on the
HOPE-TOO Trial on the effects of long-term Vitamin E
supplementation on cardiovascular events and cancer. A JAMA
editorial on the subject carries the banner, ‘Is There Any Hope
for Vitamin E?’
-
It’s probable that the story will be sensationalised by
sections of the
UK
media because the
headline results are:
-
no benefit was
shown for vitamin E in the prevention of fatal and non-fatal
cancers
-
the results did
not find any benefit of vitamin E in the prevention of major
cardiovascular events
-
the study
raises concerns about an increased risk of heart failure
related to vitamin E supplementation
However:
-
the
findings applied only to a group of patients with a history of
heart disease, stroke or diabetes who were taking numerous
medications (in other words, it investigated the effect of
vitamin E on the progression of pre-existing disease)
-
the
average age of the study participants was over 70
-
the
study does not tell us about the longer-term prevention of
cancer and CVD in younger, healthy population groups, and the
findings cannot be extrapolated to such groups
-
other trials
have not published information on heart failure and the
findings cannot be corroborated: the study’s authors concede
that the findings ‘could be due to chance’
-
there are
various other large-scale trials underway investigating
specific potential benefits of Vitamin E supplementation
A
Background paper prepared by HFMA Scientific Adviser, Dr Michele
Sadler, is attached
|
DOSSIERS