C and Chronic Diseases

Methodologically, several research strategies should be considered by which the relation between vitamin C and risk for chronic diseases may be analyzed. The most convincing approach is to consider total amount of vitamin C, including supplements (Block et al.y 1994). This approach assumes that vitamin C has the same effect independent of the source. It allows one to investigate whether vitamin C has any influence on disease risk. Furthermore, the existence of supplement users 

Detailed analysis of the MONICA studies with 16 study populations revealed that vitamin E intake was the strongest inverse predictor of IHD, followed by carotene and vitamin C intake. In the prospective cohort study in Basel, the inverse relationship of vitamin C concentration in plasma with total mortality was particularly prominent for IHD (Gey et al., 1987b). In a population based case-control 

Study of 110 cases of angina pectoris plasma concentrations of vitamin C, E and carotene were significantly inversely related to the risk of angina pectoris. However, the relation of vitamin C to risk was substantially reduced after adjustment for smoking. Only vitamin E remained inversely related to the risk of angina (Riemersma a/., 1991). 

In the Health Professional Follow-Up Study (Rimm et al.y 1993) vitamin C intake could not be related to CHD morbidity however, a significant inverse relationship was found with vitamin E. In a study in Finland with about 5000 men and women, dietary intake of vitamin C was inversely related to coronary mortality only among women. In this study, vitamin E intake was inversely related to coronary mortality in both men and women. A substudy of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging with 827 participants showed that high levels of vitamin C were associated with less atherogenetic lipid profiles (Hallfrisch et al., 1994). 

---