Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21257986›Full record

Trial reportThorax2011

Randomised vitamin E supplementation and risk of chronic lung disease in the Women's Health Study.

Anne H Agler, Tobias Kurth, J Michael Gaziano, Julie E Buring, Patricia A Cassano

Open access · hybridAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Thorax, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.0field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Natural Products for the Management of Asthma and COPD.Handbook of experimental pharmacology · 2025
    Review
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  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Functional food: complementary to fight against COVID-19.Beni-Suef University journal of basic and applied sciences · 2022
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Anne H AglerCornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Tobias Kurth
J Michael Gaziano
Julie E Buring
Patricia A Cassano
Cornell University · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USGeriatric Research Education and Clinical Center · USSorbonne Université · FR

Funding

Women's Health Study: Continued Follow-upR01CA047988 · NCI · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI BURING, JULIE E., LEE, I-MIN · 1991 to 2014
$28.2M
Supplemental Se and Vitamin E and Pulmonary FunctionR01HL071022 · NHLBI · CORNELL UNIVERSITY ITHACA · PI CASSANO, PATRICIA A · 2003 to 2007
$3.1M
TRIAL OF VITAMIN E, BETA-CAROTENE &ASPRIN IN WOMENR01HL043851 · NHLBI · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI BURING, JULIE E · 1991 to 2000
$1.6M
NCI NIH HHS CA47988NCI NIH HHS R01 CA047988NHLBI NIH HHS HL071022NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL043851NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL071022
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe oxidant/antioxidant balance in lung tissue is hypothesised to contribute to the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Observational studies consistently report higher antioxidant status associated with lower COPD risk, but few randomised studies have been reported.

methodsA post hoc analysis of 38,597 women without chronic lung disease at baseline was conducted in the Women's Health Study (WHS) to test the effect of vitamin E on the risk of incident chronic lung disease. The WHS is a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled factorial trial of vitamin E (600 IU every other day) and aspirin (100 mg every other day) in female health professionals aged≥45 years. Using Cox proportional hazards models, the effect of randomised vitamin E assignment on self-reported physician-diagnosed chronic lung disease was evaluated.

resultsDuring 10 years of follow-up (376,710 person-years), 760 first occurrences of chronic lung disease were reported in the vitamin E arm compared with 846 in the placebo arm (HR 0.90; 95% CI 0.81 to 0.99; p=0.029). This 10% reduction in the risk of incident chronic lung disease was not modified by cigarette smoking, age, randomised aspirin assignment, multivitamin use or dietary vitamin E intake (minimum p for interaction=0.19). Current cigarette smoking was a strong predictor of chronic lung disease risk (HR 4.17; 95% CI 3.70 to 4.70; vs. never smokers).

conclusionsIn this large randomised trial, assignment to 600 IU vitamin E led to a 10% reduction in the risk of chronic lung disease in women.

Indexed as

Agedalpha-TocopherolAntioxidantsChronic DiseaseDietary SupplementsDrug Administration ScheduleEpidemiologic MethodsFemaleHumansLung DiseasesMiddle AgedUnited Statesalpha-TocopherolAntioxidants

Identifiers

PMID21257986
PMCPMC3062677
OpenAlexW2168959461

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.