FRIDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- In pregnant women at high risk of developing pre-eclampsia, high-dose vitamin C and E supplements are no more effective than placebo in preventing the condition and may increase the risk of having a low birth weight baby, according to a study published online March 30 by The Lancet.
Lucilla Poston, Ph.D., of King's College London, and colleagues randomly assigned 2,410 women to receive either 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C and 400 IU of vitamin E or placebo daily from the second trimester of pregnancy until delivery.
The researchers found that the incidence of pre-eclampsia was 15 percent in the treatment group and 16 percent in the placebo group. They also found that 28 percent of the treatment group had low birth weight babies, compared to 24 percent of the placebo group. In addition, 21 percent of the treatment group had small-for-gestational-age babies, compared to 19 percent of the placebo group.
"Our results provide another example of the lack of efficacy of high-dose antioxidants in prevention of disease despite consistent evidence for a state of oxidative stress," the authors conclude. "Our findings of an increase in low birth weight and no benefit with respect to risk of pre-eclampsia suggest a contraindication of the studied doses of vitamin C and vitamin E in pregnancy."
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
