Regular long-term use of vitamin E supplementation might protect women against the development of chronic lung disease, according to a secondary analysis of the large Women’s Health Study. The findings were presented here at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2010 International Conference by investigators from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

“Vitamin E supplementation reduced the risk of new chronic lung disease diagnoses by 10% after 10 years of use,” reported Anne Hermetet Agler, a doctoral candidate at Cornell’s Division of Nutritional Sciences. Although observational studies have examined the protective effects of vitamin E, she said, this is “the first definitive report specifically for an effect of vitamin E in prevention.”

The primary end point was a reduction in chronic lung disease, defined as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or bronchiectasis.

The oxidant/antioxidant balance in lung tissue is thought to contribute to the risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Previous observational studies have shown that higher antioxidant status is associated with a lower risk for COPD, but most such studies were conducted only in men and looked only at a reduction in symptoms.

“We wanted to see if vitamin E could actually prevent COPD in a large population,” she told journalists at a press briefing held during the ATS proceedings.

She explained that as lung disease develops, tissue damage occurs through several proposed processes, including inflammation and exposure to free radicals. “Vitamin E may protect the lung against this kind of damage,” she said.

Reprinted from Medscape. For the complete article, click here.