VALENCIA, Venezuela, Oct 9, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Data do not support the
suggestion that taking B-vitamin supplements prevents heart disease, researchers
in Venezuela say.
Lead researcher Arturo Marti-Carvajal of the Iberoamerican Cochrane Network in
Valencia, Venezuela, says it has been suggested that giving B-vitamin
supplements could help regulate levels of homocysteine, thereby reducing the
risk of cardiovascular disease and death. However, the Cochrane Systematic
Review of eight trials involving a total of 24,210 people found no evidence to
support the use of B vitamins as supplements for reducing the risk of heart
attack, stroke or death associated with cardiovascular disease.
"It is important to point out that although we may have not found a positive
effect, these kinds of studies are vitally important for determining the factors
that influence the risk of developing and dying from this disease, which is the
No. 1 cause of death in the world today," Marti-Carvajal says in a statement.
"Prescription of these supplements cannot be justified, unless new evidence from
large high-quality trials alters our conclusions. There are currently three
ongoing trials that will help to consolidate or challenge these findings."
The findings are published in the Cochrane Library.
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