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Low-dose B vitamins supplementation ameliorates cardiovascular risk: a double-blind randomized controlled trial in healthy Chinese elderly

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Abstract

Purpose

We investigated whether daily supplementation with low-dose B vitamins in the healthy elderly population improves the Framingham risk score (FRS), a predictor of cardiovascular disease risk.

Methods

Between 2007 and 2012, a double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in a rural area of North China. In all, 390 healthy participants aged 60–74 were randomly allocated to receive daily vitamin C (50 mg; control group) or vitamin C plus B vitamins (400 µg folic acid, 2 mg B6, and 10 µg B12; treatment group) for 12 months. FRSs were calculated for all 390 subjects.

Results

Folate and vitamin B12 plasma concentrations in the treatment group increased by 253 and 80 %, respectively, after 6 months, stopped increasing with continued supplementation after 12 months and returned to baseline levels 6 months after supplementation cessation. Compared with the control group, there was no significant effect of B vitamin supplementation on FRSs after 6 months (mean difference −0.38; 95 % CI −1.06, 0.31; p = 0.279), whereas a significant effect of supplementation was evident after 12 months (reduced magnitude 7.6 %; −0.77; 95 % CI −1.47, −0.06; p = 0.033). However, this reduction disappeared 6 months after supplementation stopped (−0.07; 95 % CI −0.80, 0.66; p = 0.855). The reduction in FRS 12 months after supplementation was more pronounced in individuals with a folate deficiency (10.4 %; −1.30; 95 % CI −2.54, −0.07; p = 0.039) than in those without (4.1 %; −0.38; 95 % CI −1.12, 0.36; p = 0.313). B vitamins increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol by 3.4 % after 6 months (0.04; 95 % CI −0.02, 0.10; p = 0.155) and by 9.2 % after 12 months (0.11; 95 % CI 0.04, 0.18; p = 0.003). Compared with the control group, this change in magnitude decreased to 3.3 % (0.04; 95 % CI −0.02, 0.10; p = 0.194) 6 months after supplementation cessation.

Conclusions

Daily supplementation with a low-dose of B vitamins for 12 months reduced FRS, particularly in healthy elderly subjects with a folate deficiency. These reduced effects declined after supplementation cessation, indicating a need for persistent supplementation to maintain the associated benefits.

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Abbreviations

FRS:

Framingham risk score

RDA:

Recommended dietary allowance

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by two grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 30572071; 30471486). We thank Dr. Zuguo Mei (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and Dr. Shufeng Zhou (University of South Florida) for their thoughtful review and editing of this manuscript. We thank all participants for their dedication and the local health workers for their assistance with subject recruitment and data collection.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Reproductive and Child Health, Ministry of Health Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Centre, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Linlin Wang, Hongtian Li, Lei Jin & Jianmeng Liu

  2. Xiacheng District Institute of Health Inspection, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Yuan Zhou

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  1. Linlin Wang
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  2. Hongtian Li
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Correspondence to Jianmeng Liu.

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Wang, L., Li, H., Zhou, Y. et al. Low-dose B vitamins supplementation ameliorates cardiovascular risk: a double-blind randomized controlled trial in healthy Chinese elderly. Eur J Nutr 54, 455–464 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-014-0729-5

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