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  • Vitamin C is not associated with coronary heart disease risk once life course socioeconomic position is taken into account: prospective findings from the British women’s heart and health study

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Scientific letters
Vitamin C is not associated with coronary heart disease risk once life course socioeconomic position is taken into account: prospective findings from the British women’s heart and health study
  1. D A Lawlor1,
  2. S Ebrahim1,
  3. D Kundu2,
  4. K R Bruckdorfer2,
  5. P H Whincup3,
  6. G Davey Smith1
  1. 1Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
  2. 2Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biochemistry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of London, London, UK
  3. 3Department of Community Health Sciences, St George’s Hospital Medical School, University of London
  1. Correspondence to:
    Dr Debbie A Lawlor
    Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2PR, UK; d.a.lawlorbristol.ac.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/hrt.2004.048934

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    The reason why prospective cohort studies have found that plasma vitamin C concentration, or dietary intake of vitamin C, is protective against coronary heart disease (CHD) risk1 but randomised controlled trials have found no effect of vitamin C on CHD2 is unclear. We have previously suggested that this difference is caused by confounding.3 Our hypothesis is that high adult concentrations of vitamin C reflect a number of characteristics, including advantageous socioeconomic circumstances in childhood and adulthood, and that it is these characteristics, not vitamin C, that protect against CHD. The aim of this study is to examine whether the association between plasma vitamin C and CHD is confounded by life course socioeconomic position.

    METHODS

    Data from the British Women’s Heart and Health Study were used. Full details of the selection of participants and measurements used in the study have been previously reported.4 Between 1999 and 2001, 4286 British women aged 60–79 years were interviewed, examined, completed medical questionnaires, and had detailed reviews of their medical records. These women have been followed up over a median of four years by flagging with the National Health Service (NHS) central register for mortality data and two yearly reviews of their medical records. This follow up is complete for all participants. Local ethics committee approval was obtained for the study.

    Ten measures of life course socioeconomic position were obtained from baseline questionnaire responses: father’s occupational social class, bathroom and hot water in childhood home, family car …

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    Footnotes

    • Conflict of interest: none