> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foodconsumer.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Vitamin E may increase the life expectancy of restricted groups of men (PR)
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/vitamin_e_1020111003/
- Published: 2011-01-20T11:03:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T15:52:37.000Z
- Description: In a Finnish trial of 10,837 participants, vitamin E did not affect mortality at ages 65 to 70 but cut it 24 percent from age 71. Among 2,284 men with above-median vitamin C intake who smoked under a pack a day it added two years, while 80 percent of the cohort saw no effect.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Vitamins, Nutrition, Vitamin E, #vivvo-import

Contact: Dr. Harri Hemilä

harri.hemila@helsinki.fi

358-415-329-987

Vitamin E may increase the life expectancy of restricted groups of men

Depending on the level of smoking and dietary vitamin C intake, vitamin E supplementation may extend the life-span of restricted groups of men, according to a study published in the Age and Ageing.

Several large randomized trials of humans found that vitamin E supplementation does not reduce mortality. However, the average effect on mortality in a group of people with a wide age range may mask an effect of vitamin E on the life-span.

Dr. Harri Hemila, and Professor Jaakko Kaprio, of the University of Helsinki, Finland, studied the age-dependency of vitamin E effect on mortality in the large randomized trial (Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study) which was conducted in Finland between 1985-1993\. Their study was restricted to follow-up period over 65 years and 10,837 participants contributed to the analysis.

Among all analyzed participants, vitamin E had no effect on mortality when participants were 65 to 70 years old, but reduced mortality by 24% when participants were 71 or older.

Among 2,284 men with dietary vitamin C intake above the median who smoked less than a pack of cigarettes per day, vitamin E extended life-span by two years at the upper limit of the follow-up age span. In the other participants, consisting of 80% of the cohort, vitamin E did not affect mortality, which shows that vitamin E is no panacea for extending life expectancy.

The researchers concluded that "if vitamin E influences the life-span, it is possible that a benefit on the oldest participants might be camouflaged by the large middle-aged majority of study participants". Therefore, they propose that it might be useful to analyze the effect of vitamin E supplementation in large controlled trials by the age of the participant at the follow-up and not just by the time after randomization that has been customary.

###