Quick Study

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

CANCER

B vitamins may affect rates among older women.

THE QUESTION Are women who take vitamin B supplements less likely to develop cancer?

THIS STUDY analyzed data on 5,442 middle-aged and older women who had been randomly assigned to take a vitamin B supplement (containing B6, B12 and folic acid) or a placebo daily.

During the next seven years, 379 of the women received diagnoses of invasive cancer, meaning their cancer had spread beyond the area where it developed.

Overall, there was virtually no difference in the rate of cancer development between those who had and had not taken B vitamins, nor was there a difference in the occurrence of breast cancer or colorectal cancer.

However, among women 65 and older, those who had taken the supplements were 25 percent less likely to have developed any type of invasive cancer and 38 percent less likely to have developed breast cancer than older women who did not take the vitamins.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? Women. Cancer will be diagnosed in an estimated 700,000 women in the United States this year.

CAVEATS The findings may not apply to men. Although the study did not find that B vitamins helped prevent cancer, no increase in risk was found, either.

FIND THIS STUDY Nov. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

LEARN MORE ABOUT cancer at http://www.cancer.gov. Learn about B vitamins at http://ods.od.nih.gov.

PNEUMONIA

Fatal infections appear less likely with statins.

THE QUESTION Some studies have shown that statins help reduce the severity of infection. Might that apply to pneumonia?

THIS STUDY analyzed data on 29,900 people older than age 15 (most older than 40) who were hospitalized for pneumonia. At the time, 1,372 of them were taking statins. During the next three months, 6,611 died as a result of pneumonia. In the first 30 days, the mortality rate was about 10 percent for people taking statins and 16 percent for those not taking the cholesterol-lowering drug. The 90-day rate was 17 percent vs. 22 percent.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? People taking statins and people susceptible to pneumonia, a lung infection that can strike at any age but is most common among older people and those recovering from a severe illness or dealing with a chronic disease.

CAVEATS The study found an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship, between statins and pneumonia. The authors wrote that the statin users might have had better access to health care.

FIND THIS STUDY Oct. 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

LEARN MORE ABOUT pneumonia at http://www.lungusa.org. Learn about statins at http://www.mayoclinic.com.

-- Linda Searing

The research described in Quick Study comes from credible, peer-reviewed journals. Nonetheless, conclusive evidence about a treatment's effectiveness is rarely found in a single study. Anyone considering changing or beginning treatment of any kind should consult with a physician.