Long-Term use of Vitamin E May Prevent COPD in Women

Regular long-term use of vitamin E may protect women against chronic lung disease, according to a recent study out of Cornell University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The findings, presented at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2010 International Conference, suggest that the use of vitamin E supplements reduces the incidence of chronic lung disease, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, by 10%. This would make it the first definitive findings on the effect of vitamin E in the prevention of lung diseases.

The study randomized 39,876 female patients without chronic lung disease to receive vitamin E or a placebo for approximately 10 years. All other health and lifestyle characteristics were balanced between groups to ensure that any effects were, in fact, a result of vitamin E.

The difference in diagnoses was significant after cigarette smoking, aspirin assignment, randomization age, multivitamin use, body mass index, preexisting asthma, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, inflammatory disease and dietary intake of vitamin C or non-study-assigned vitamin E were taken into account.

Researchers believe that the positive outcome is due to the contributing role the oxidant/antioxidant balance in lung tissues play in the risk of COPD. Previous observational studies have shown that higher antioxidant status is associated with a lower risk for COPD, but those studies were conducted only in men and only looked at a reduction in symptoms.

Anne Hermetet Agler, a doctoral candidate at Cornell's Division of Nutritional Sciences, presented the findings at the ATS. She explained that as lung disease develops, tissue damage occurs through several processes, including inflammation and exposure to free radicals. Vitamin E may protect the lung against this kind of damage.

Researchers are not yet ready to recommend the widespread adoption of vitamin E for the prevention of chronic lung disease on the basis of these findings alone, since very high doses of vitamin E have been associated with congestive heart failure and increased mortality in other studies.

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