Vitamin C Supplementation of Old People with Low Blood Levels

Abstract

Ascorbic acid blood levels were estimated in 828 elderly people living in the community. 297 subjects with low blood levels were admitted to a 2-year controlled trial of vitamin C. Despite a rise in plasma and leucocyte levels, vitamin C produced no apparent benefit in terms of mortality, morbidity or mental senescence. On following up all those who were originally seen, it was found that a higher proportion of deaths occurred among subjects whose leucocyte levels were below 15 μg/l08 cells than among the rest. This association was especially marked in the men; it was not due to smoking and was probably attributable to an effect of ill-health on blood levels, either directly or through impairment of appetite.

Vitamin C and Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review

“…'I'hc interpretation of those two trials is complicated by the fact that the follow-up was relatively short and that they wcrc carried out in subjects with poor nutritional status drawn from a population with low rates of coronary heart disease and a haciiiorrhagic stroke pattern. Also two sinall trials of short duration [56,57] have bccn reported. In one trial 538 elderly patients wcrc allocated randoiiily to be administcrcd cithcr 200 ing vitamin C per day o r placebo.…”

Nutritional Requirements of the Elderly

“…Ascorbic acid levels also decline in the tissues of aging rats, even though the rat does not depend on an external source of ascorbic acid (123). However, generous doses of ascorbic acid given daily for lengthy periods failed to improve the clinical condition of nursing-home patients (6,21) or resulted at best in small increases in body weight and in plasma protein levels (139). This implies that total intake was probably over 100 mg ascorbic acid daily.…”