High Vitamin E Intake May Prevent COPD

NEW ORLEANSLong-term, regular use of vitamin E in women 45 years of age and older may help decrease the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by about 10 percent in both smokers and non-smokers, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Societys 2010 International Conference.

As lung disease develops, damage occurs to sensitive tissues through several proposed processes, including inflammation and damage from free radicals, said Anne Hermetet Agler, doctoral candidate with Cornell Universitys Division of Nutritional Sciences. Vitamin E may protect the lung against such damage. The findings from our study suggest that increasing vitamin E prevents COPD.

Researchers reviewed data compiled by the Womens Health Study, a multi-year, long-term effort ending in 2004 that focused on the effects of aspirin and vitamin E in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer in nearly 40,000 women aged 45 years and older. Study participants were randomized to receive either 600 mg of vitamin E or a placebo every other day during the course of the research.

Although fewer women taking vitamin E developed COPD, the researchers noted the supplements appeared to have no effect on asthma, and women taking vitamin E supplements were diagnosed with asthma at about the same rate as women taking placebo pills. The decreased risk of COPD in women who were given vitamin E was the same for smokers as for non-smokers.