Vitamin Supplementation Does Not Reduce Pneumonia Risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 18 - Higher vitamin intake does not reduce the risk of community-acquired pneumonia, at least in well-nourished women, according to a report in the April issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

"In malnourished individuals and in the elderly, there is some evidence to support the role of vitamin supplementation in reducing pneumonia risk," Dr. Mark I. Neuman from Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts told Reuters Health. However, "There is very little published data regarding the role of vitamin intake on the development of community-acquired pneumonia in well-nourished women."

To investigate, Dr. Neuman and associates studied data from the Nurses Health Study on more than 80,000 healthy women to determine whether vitamin intake altered the risk of community-acquired pneumonia over a 10-year period.

"The etiology of pneumonia is multifactorial," Dr. Neuman pointed out. "Exposure to infectious organisms plays a role, but differences in host immunity are likely to be responsible for the variability in susceptibility to infection. Vitamin intake plays a small role in overall host immunity, but again, the determinant of host immunity is multifactorial."

After adjusting for smoking, body-mass index, alcohol use, and physical activity, he and his colleagues found there were no significant associations between vitamin A, C, or E intake and the risk of community-acquired pneumonia.

Similarly, the results indicate, there were no significant associations between intake of other vitamins and micronutrients and the risk of community-acquired pneumonia. The lack of association held even after adjusting for dose levels of the various vitamins and when considering vitamin intake from diet alone.

Among smokers, however, higher intake of vitamin E from the diet was associated with a 54% lower risk of community-acquired pneumonia. Regarding that finding, Dr. Neuman cautioned, "These results require confirmation before recommending any change in practice."

Am J Med 2007;120:330-336.

Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/556727?src=mp