Wednesday, March 19, 2003

Vitamin C may help prevent arthritis

A diet that is high in fruit and vegetables – particularly those containing vitamin C – may help prevent arthritis, according to UK researchers.

- 2003/03/19

A joint study by the Arthritis Research Campaign’s epidemiology unit at Manchester University and the Institute of Public Health at the University of Cambridge, found that reduced fruit and vegetable intake increases the risk of developing inflammatory arthritis. The researchers studied 25,000 people who were taking part in the EPIC-Norfolk project – a study looking at the relationship between diet and chronic diseases. Each participant was given a health and dietary assessment and followed-up over an eight-year period to see if they developed inflammatory polyarthritis. Over the course of the study, 73 of the participants developed the condition, which in turn, was clearly linked to a lower intake of fruit, vegetables, fructose, and dietary vitamin C. Professor David Scott, president of the British Society for Rheumatology, said, “It seems there is a particularly strong link between the risk of developing some forms of arthritis and a low intake of vitamin C. “We feel these findings may have important implications for the role of diet in reducing the risk of inflammatory arthritis.” Dr Madeleine Devey, scientific officer for the Arthritis Research Campaign, added, “The Norfolk Arthritis Register's research has already established that smoking and blood transfusions are two significant risk factors for developing rheumatoid arthritis. “These latest findings suggesting that low doses of vitamin C could also be a risk factor are clearly worthy of further study.”

SOURCE: HMG Worldwide