Higher vitamin E intake linked to lower COPD risk: US data
Findings suggest vitamin E supplementation may help in preventing COPD
People who get more vitamin E from their diet may be less likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an analysis suggests.
Findings indicate that vitamin E supplementation may help in preventing COPD, but more research is needed to confirm this, researchers note.
The study “Association of Dietary intake of vitamin E with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease events in US adults: A cross-sectional study of NHANES 2013-2018,” was published in Frontiers in Nutrition.
Vitamin E plays important roles in helping prevent cellular damage
Vitamin E is an antioxidant that plays important roles in helping prevent damage to the body’s cells. This nutrient is naturally abundant in foods such as nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, and green leafy vegetables, and it’s also commonly added to certain fortified foods including breakfast cereals.
Some studies have suggested higher vitamin E intake is associated with a reduced risk of certain lung diseases, including asthma, lung cancer, and upper respiratory tract infections, though these data are far from conclusive.
Also, a previous U.S. clinical trial, involving more than 38,000 women, showed increased vitamin E intake was associated with a lower COPD risk. However, there is limited evidence on this potential relationship across sexes, age groups, educational levels, and ethnicity.
To learn more, a team of scientists in China conducted an analysis of 2013-2018 data from a U.S. database, called National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, that collected information on a person’s health and diet.
The analysis included data from 4,706 adults (20 years and older). More than half were men (52.3%), non-Hispanic white (65.4%), and married or living with a partner (62.1%). The majority had completed a level of education above high school (63.3%). A total of 155 people (3.3%) had COPD.
Preliminary assessments showed the average vitamin E intake was significantly lower among those with COPD compared with those without the disease (8.72 vs. 7.10 mg/day). Most people were getting well below the recommended daily allowance of vitamin E for adults, which is 15 mg/day.
The researchers split the participants into three even groups based on their daily vitamin E intake: lowest, medium, and highest. They then ran statistical tests to compare the relative risk of COPD between each of these groups. These tests accounted for potential influencing factors, such as age, sex, marital status, ethnicity, education level, smoking, and cholesterol levels.
Highest vitamin E intake group had significantly reduced risk of COPD
Results showed the highest intake group had a significantly reduced risk of COPD, by 43%, relative to the lowest intake group. Those on medium levels of vitamin E intake also tended to have a lower COPD risk than those on the lowest levels, but this difference wasn’t statistically significant, which means it’s mathematically plausible it could be random chance.
Further statistical analyses, as well as subgroup analyses, all indicated the higher the vitamin E intake, the lower the risk of developing COPD.
“The results showed that vitamin E intake among U.S. adults was well below the recommended levels and that higher vitamin E intake was negatively associated with COPD incidence,” the scientists wrote.
Based on these findings, vitamin E supplementation might “have an important role in the prevention of COPD,” the team wrote.
The researchers cautioned, however, that their analyses looked for correlations, not cause-and-effect relationships, so more studies will be needed to test whether vitamin E supplements are actually an effective method for decreasing COPD risk.
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