New research by a team at the University of Cambridge suggests a clear link between daily vitamin C intake and risk of death. The research findings, published this week in The Lancet, support previous research which has suggested that vitamin C may be protective for several chronic diseases.
New research by a team at the University of Cambridge suggests a clear link between daily vitamin C intake and risk of death. The research findings, published this week in The Lancet, support previous research which has suggested that vitamin C may be protective for several chronic diseases.
New research by a team at the University of Cambridge suggests a clear link between daily vitamin C intake and risk of death. The research findings, published this week in The Lancet, support previous research which has suggested that vitamin C may be protective for several chronic diseases.
The Cambridge team, led by Kay-Tee Khaw, Professor of Clinical Gerontology in the Department of Community Medicine, looked at the relation between plasma vitamin C concentrations and death due to all causes, cardiovascular disease, ischaemic heart disease, and cancer.
Data for the research came from a large cohort group of 19,496 men and women aged between 45 and 79 years living in Norfolk. The participants completed a health and lifestyle questionnaire and were examined at a clinic visit. They were followed-up for causes of death for about 4 years.
Plasma vitamin C concentration was inversely related to death from all-causes, and from cardiovascular disease, and ischaemic heart disease in men and women. The risk of death among individuals with the highest vitamin C concentrations (top 20%) was about half the risk compared with individuals with lowest concentrations (the bottom 20%).
An increase in plasma vitamin C equivalent to a daily 50 gramme increase in intake of fruit or vegetables was associated with a 20% decrease in risk of death from all causes, independent of age, systolic blood pressure, blood cholesterol, cigarette smoking habit, diabetes, and supplement use. Vitamin C was only associated with a decreased risk of cancer-related death in men.
Kay-Tee Khaw comments: "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. The research adds 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".
The research is just the latest in a series of findings which come from the work of EPIC-Norfolk, the main UK branch of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. This pan-European epidemiological study is unprecedented in the scale and range of the populations studied. Previous research has been of limited value because studies have investigated a single population with limited variation in lifestyle factors such as diet. By gathering data on populations in 22 separate centres in nine European countries, each with different environments and lifestyles, the EPIC study will be able to pinpoint the common nutritional factors affecting the incidence of cancer.
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