SynthesisBioMed research international2018
Extra Dose of Vitamin C Based on a Daily Supplementation Shortens the Common Cold: A Meta-Analysis of 9 Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in BioMed research international, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It has been retracted, and should not be counted. Cited by 49 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 97 citations in OpenAlex.
- Vitamin C reduces the severity of common colds: a meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2023Pooled it
- Intravenous vitamin C use and risk of severity and mortality in COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Nutritional perspectives for the prevention and mitigation of COVID-19.Nutrition reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of micronutrient supplements on influenza and other respiratory tract infections among adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- Association between Serum Vitamin C and the Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.Cardiovascular therapeutics · 2020Pooled it
- Vitamin C and COVID-19 treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Diabetes & metabolic syndromePooled it
- Trial
- Knowledge, attitudes, and prevalence of vitamin C intake among the general population of the UAE during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Broad-Spectrum Antivirals Derived from Natural Products.Viruses · 2023Review
- Retracted: Extra Dose of Vitamin C Based on a Daily Supplementation Shortens the Common Cold: A Meta-Analysis of 9 Randomized Controlled Trials.BioMed research international · 2023Article
- Antioxidant Effects of Dietary Supplements on Adult COVID-19 Patients: Why Do We Not Also Use Them in Children?Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- The Role of Diet and Supplements in the Prevention and Progression of COVID-19: Current Knowledge and Open Issues.Preventive nutrition and food science · 2022Review
- Vitamin C stimulates RNA expression of human gingival fibroblasts proliferation and adhesion in cigarette smokers: AnThe Saudi dental journal · 2022Article
- Review
- Bias against Vitamin C in Mainstream Medicine: Examples from Trials of Vitamin C for Infections.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- COVID-19-Associated Stroke.Neuroscience and behavioral physiology · 2022Article
- Role of vitamin C in preventing of COVID-19 infection, progression and severity.AIMS microbiology · 2022Review
- Nutrient modulation of viral infection-implications for COVID-19.Nutrition research and practice · 2021Review
- Any Role of High-Dose Vitamin C for Septic Shock in 2021?Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Retraction · 2023-04-10Error in Analyses · Investigation by Journal/Publisher · Investigation by Third Party · Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions ·
- Retracted
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimTo investigate whether vitamin C is effective in the treatment of the common cold.
methodAfter systematically searching the National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Cochrane Library, Elsevier, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP databases, and WANFANG databases, 9 randomized placebo-controlled trials were included in our meta-analysis in RevMan 5.3 software, all of which were in English.
resultsIn the evaluation of vitamin C, administration of extra therapeutic doses at the onset of cold despite routine supplementation was found to help reduce its duration (mean difference (MD) = -0.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-1.03, -0.10], and P = 0.02), shorten the time of confinement indoors (MD = -0.41, 95% CI [-0.62, -0.19], and P = 0.0002), and relieve the symptoms associated with it, including chest pain (MD = -0.40, 95% CI [-0.77, -0.03], and P = 0.03), fever (MD = -0.45, 95% CI [-0.78, -0.11], and P = 0.009), and chills (MD = -0.36, 95% CI [-0.65, -0.07], and P = 0.01).
conclusionsExtra doses of vitamin C could benefit some patients who contract the common cold despite taking daily vitamin C supplements.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.