Natural Medicine Update

STUDY: A fairly large decrease in CRP levels with vitamins.

JOURNAL: Nutrition Week 2003

AUTHORS: Dr. Timothy S. Church

ABSTRACT: Multivitamin use is associated with a significant reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, which could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

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COMMENTARY: The findings are based on a study of 88 subjects who were randomized to receive a multivitamin or placebo once daily for 6 months. CRP and vitamin levels were measured at baseline and at the end of the trial.

"The study was originally designed to assess the effects of multivitamin use on LDL and homocysteine levels. After some reports suggested that vitamin E may decrease CRP levels, I decided to reanalyze the blood samples from our study to determine the effect of multivitamin use on CRP levels," Dr. Church added.

To eliminate the potential confounding effects of perimenopause, the researchers limited their analysis to blood samples taken from men or postmenopausal women.

Dr. Church presented his team's findings at Nutrition Week 2003, an annual meeting sponsored by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

"In the multivitamin group, we observed a fairly large decrease in CRP levels," Dr. Church noted. After adjustment, the mean CRP decline was -0.58 mg/L (p = 0.02). In contrast, a slight increase in CRP levels (+0.18 mg/L) occurred in the placebo group.

The magnitude of the reduction is probably too great to be accounted for by the vitamin E present in the formulation, Dr. Church said. "Based on recent reports, I think the effect was probably due to the vitamin B6 and C present.