Vitamines anti-oxydantes dans la prevention des maladies cardio-vasculaires. 2eme partie: le point sur les essais cliniques.

Various epidemiological studies suggested that individuals with high intake of antioxidant vitamins (E, A and C) have a better cardiovascular prognosis than subjects with relative deficiencies in such vitamins. However, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials did not demonstrate that a specific supplementation in either alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) or beta-carotene (vitamin A) allows to reduce the incidence of major cardiovascular events, in the general population or even in various subgroups at high risk, and there is no such controlled trials with vitamin C alone. Some studies suggested that combined supplements of several antioxidant vitamins might be more efficacious, and these observations led to initiate several large controlled studies. Thus, until now, there is no convincing arguments in the literature in favour of artificial supplements of antioxidant vitamins. It seems preferable to encourage a well-balanced healthy diet while awaiting the results of the large prospective ongoing trials with combined supplementation.