Multivitamins Found to Help with Lung Health

by | Jan 19, 2010 | 2010, Cancer, Lung Cancer, Vitamins

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. A new study showed researchers that 12 servings per month of green leafy vegetables reduced lung cancer risk by 17%, 750 mcg of folic acid per day decreased lung cancer risk by 16%, and daily use of a multivitamin decreased lung cancer by 32%.

Lung cancer affects an estimated 350,679 Americans (1), costs our healthcare system $9.6 billion per year (2), and causes more deaths than the next three most common cancers combined (colon, breast and prostate) (3). Lung cancer also causes one in three cancer-related deaths each year, has a “dismal” 5-year survival rate of approximately 14% and has shown no improvement over the past 30 years (4). It is expected to cause 10 million deaths per year worldwide by the year 2030 (5).

Now a new study (6) has found that multivitamin supplementation helps lung health. In the study, 1,101 patients participating in the Lovelace Smokers Cohort (7) completed the Harvard Food Frequency Questionnaire (8) to measure dietary intake of antioxidants. The patients also provided a saliva sample, which researchers used to measure activity of 8 different proteins whose activity commonly stops in lung cancer.

The researchers found that “significant protection” against decreased protein activity was seen for green leafy vegetables (12 servings per month, which reduced lung cancer risk by 17%) and folic acid (every 750 micrograms/day decreased lung cancer risk by 16%). The biggest decrease in lung cancer risk was seen with multivitamin use.  Specifically, current daily use of a multivitamin decreased lung cancer risk 43%. Past daily use of a multivitamin reduced lung cancer risk by 32%. The researchers, however, did not give specific length of multivitamin use and lung cancer risk as “The duration of vitamin use was not associated with [protein activity level].”

For the researchers, “This study has identified two dietary variables, leafy green vegetables and folate, along with multivitamin use that could help reduce the incidence of lung cancer by [maintaining protein function] in the aerodigestive tract* of smokers.”

*The combined organs and tissues of the respiratory tract and the upper part of the digestive tract.

Source: Stidley, Christine A., et al. “Multivitamins, folate, and green vegetables protect against gene promoter methylation in the aerodigestive tract of smokers.” Cancer research 70.2 (2010): 568-574.

© 2010 American Association for Cancer Research.

Posted January 19, 2010.

References:

  1. Ries LAG, Eisner MP, Kosary CL, Hankey BF, Miller BA, Clegg L, Mariotto A, Feuer EJ, Edwards BK (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2002, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD.
  2. “Cost of Lung Cancer” posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
  3. “Lung Cancer Fact Sheet” posted on the American Lung Association Website.
  4. Jemal A, Murray T, Ward E, Samuels A, Tiwari RC, Ghafoor A, et al. Cancer statistics, 2005. CA Cancer J Clin 2005;55:10-30.
  5. Proctor RN. Tobacco and the global lung cancer epidemic. Nat Rev Cancer 2001;1:82-6.
  6. Flores FG.  Multi-Vitamins, Folate, and Green Vegetables Protect Against Gene Promoter Methylation in the Aerodigestive Tract of Smokers.  Cancer Research 2010. Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-3410.
  7. Lovelace Respiratory Institute Website
  8. Harvard Food Frequency Questionnaire – posted on the Harvard School of Public Health website.