Does micronutrient supplementation help lower CVD risk?

Supplementation of some micronutrients may help improve cardiometabolic health, but not all are beneficial, reveals a study.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled intervention trials of micronutrients on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and clinical events was conducted to provide a comprehensive and current evidence-based map quantifying the impact of micronutrients on CVD outcomes.

The authors identified a total of 884 studies evaluating 27 types of micronutrients among 883,627 participants (4,895,544 person-years).

Moderate- to high-quality evidence revealed the supplementation with n-3 fatty acid, n-6 fatty acid, l-arginine, l-citrulline, folic acid, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, α-lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, melatonin, catechin, curcumin, flavanol, genistein, and quercetin reduced the risk of CVD.

In particular, n-3 fatty acid supplementation led to lower CVD mortality (relative risk [RR], 0.93, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.8‒0.97), myocardial infarction (RR, 0.85, 95 percent CI, 0.78‒0.92), and coronary heart disease events (RR, 0.86, 95 percent CI, 0.80‒0.93).

Supplementation of folic reduced the risk of stroke (RR, 0.84, 95 percent CI, 0.72‒0.97), while that of coenzyme Q10 reduced all-cause mortality events (RR, 0.68, 95 percent CI, 0.49‒0.94).

On the other hand, vitamins C, D, and E and selenium provided no benefits on CVD or type 2 diabetes risk, while supplementation of β-carotene increased all-cause mortality (RR, 1.10, 95 percent CI, 1.05‒1.15), CVD mortality events (RR, 1.12, 95 percent CI, 1.06‒1.18), and stroke risk (RR, 1.09, 95 percent CI, 1.01‒1.17).

“This study highlights the importance of micronutrient diversity and the balance of benefits and risks to promote and maintain cardiovascular health in diverse populations,” the authors said.