Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009 Jul;64(7):610-9.
doi: 10.1136/thx.2008.101469. Epub 2009 Apr 30.

Association between antioxidant vitamins and asthma outcome measures: systematic review and meta-analysis

S Allen  1 , J R Britton, J A Leonardi-Bee
Affiliations
Review

Association between antioxidant vitamins and asthma outcome measures: systematic review and meta-analysis

S Allen et al. Thorax. 2009 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Epidemiological studies suggest that dietary intake of vitamins A, C and E may be associated with the occurrence of asthma. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with MOOSE guidelines to determine whether vitamins A, C and E, measured as dietary intakes or serum levels, are associated with asthma.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, CAB abstracts and AMED (up to November 2007), conference proceedings and bibliographies of papers were searched to identify studies of asthma, wheeze or airway responsiveness in relation to intakes and serum concentrations of vitamins A, C and E. Pooled odds ratios (OR) or mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using random effects models.

Results: A total of 40 studies were included. Dietary vitamin A intake was significantly lower in people with asthma than in those without asthma (MD -82 microg/day, 95% CI -288 to -75; 3 studies) and in people with severe asthma than in those with mild asthma (MD -344 microg/day; 2 studies). Lower quantile dietary intakes (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.21; 9 studies) and serum levels of vitamin C were also associated with an increased odds of asthma. Vitamin E intake was generally unrelated to asthma status but was significantly lower in severe asthma than in mild asthma (MD -1.20 microg/day, 95% CI -2.3 to -0.1; 2 studies).

Conclusions: Relatively low dietary intakes of vitamins A and C are associated with statistically significant increased odds of asthma and wheeze. Vitamin E intake does not appear to be related to asthma status.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles