Does vitamin C deficiency increase lifestyle-associated vascular disease progression? Evidence based on experimental and clinical studies.

Abstract

SIGNIFICANCE:

Despite continuous advances in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), critical issues associated with an unhealthy lifestyle remain an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries.

RECENT ADVANCES:

A growing body of literature supports a specific role for vitamin C in a number of reactions that are associated with vascular function and control including, for example, nitric oxide bioavailability, lipid metabolism, and vascular integrity.

CRITICAL ISSUES:

A large body of epidemiological evidence supports a relationship between poor vitamin C status and increased risk of developing CVD, and the prevalence of deficiency continues to be around 10%-20% of the general Western population although this problem could easily and cheaply be solved by supplementation. However, large intervention studies using vitamin C have not found a beneficial effect of supplementation. This review outlines the proposed mechanism by which vitamin C deficiency worsens CVD progression. In addition, it discusses problems with the currently available literature, including the discrepancies between the large intervention studies and the experimental and epidemiological literature.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS:

Increased insights into vitamin C deficiency-mediated CVD progression will enable the design of future randomized controlled trials that are better suited to test the efficacy of vitamin C in disease prevention as well as the identification of high-risk individuals which could possibly benefit from supplementation.

• Authors: Pernille Tveden-Nyborg, Jens Lykkesfeldt
• Journal: Antioxidants & redox signaling (Antioxid Redox Signal) Vol. 19 Issue 17 Pg. 2084-104 (Dec 10 2013) ISSN: 1557-7716 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23642093 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Antioxidants
• Ascorbic Acid

Topics

• Animals
• Antioxidants (therapeutic use)
• Ascorbic Acid (therapeutic use)
• Ascorbic Acid Deficiency (complications, pathology)
• Cardiovascular Diseases (drug therapy, etiology, metabolism, pathology)
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 (complications)
• Disease Progression
• Humans
• Life Style
• Obesity (complications)
• Oxidation-Reduction
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• Smoking (adverse effects)