Patients with coronary artery may not benefit from vitamin B supplements...

According to a study by Marta Ebbing, lead researcher and M.D. of Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway patients suffering from coronary artery diseases and generally prescribed vitamin B supplements to reduce death risk may not benefit as previously thought.

For the study 4 groups were created and the 3096 patients from two Norwegian hospitals were selected for the study. The participants were then randomly assigned to any of the 4 group. There were 2462 males and 634 females with average age of 61 years. The study was conducted between 1999 and 2006.

The first groups were given daily dose (oral) of vitamin B12, B6 and folic acid. The second group was subjected to vitamin B12 and folic acid. The third group was given oral doses of vitamin B6 only, and fourth group received placebo alone.

The study revealed that the groups that received vitamin B12 and folic acid for about a year showed 30 % reduction in mean plasma total homocysteine concentration.

According to researchers 422 participants of which 219 from group two and four reached the end point in the study. By definition “The primary end point was a composite of all-cause death, nonfatal acute myocardial infarction, acute hospitalization for unstable angina pectoris, and nonfatal thromboembolic stroke.”

200 participants who were subjected to vitamin B6 benefited from the treatment as compare to the 222 who did not receive such treatment. The groups that were given folic acid showed lower stroke incidents but higher cancer incidences.

Over all the study indicated that prescribing vitamin B for patients with coronary artery disease does not serve the purpose.