A study published in the March 9th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine indicates that vitamin C supplementation may help prevent gout.
For twenty years beginning in 1986 researchers appraised the association between vitamin C and the incidence of gout. Their study was based on nearly 47,000 men who had no history of gout. The participants were evaluated based on a questionnaire at the start and every four years thereafter.
Among the participants there were 1317 cases of gout during the twenty years of the study. The researchers found that men who took 1,000-1,499 milligrams of vitamin C per day had a 34% reduced risk of gout compared to men who didn’t take any vitamin C supplements. As the amount of vitamin C increased the risk of gout decreased. The men who took 1,500 milligrams per day had a 45% reduced risk compared to those who didn’t take any.
The researchers found that the association between vitamin C and reduced incidence of gout was not impacted by dietary of other risk factors and that it was statistically significant.
“Higher vitamin C intake is independently associated with a lower risk of gout,” the study authors write. “Supplemental vitamin C intake may be beneficial in the prevention of gout.”
Limitations of this study include dietary consumption self-reported by questionnaire; observational design; lack of confirmation of gout diagnosis by observation of urate crystals in joint fluid; and restriction to health professionals, limiting generalizability.
loading...
Originally posted 2009-04-01 18:48:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related posts:
Recent Comments