what they said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

NEW YORK -- A person's level of vitamin C may predict his or her likelihood of having a stroke, according to a long-term study of some 20,000 middle-aged and older residents of Norfolk in the United Kingdom.
During an average follow-up of 9.5 years, 448 strokes occurred in the study population. Researchers found that people with the highest vitamin C concentration at the start of the study had a 42-per-cent lower risk of stroke over 10 years compared to those with the lowest levels of vitamin C....

how did it rate? (more information)

what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

This story reports a cohort study of 20,000 residents in the UK who were followed for almost 10 years and found that those with the highest levels of vitamin C had the lowest levels of stroke. The study found a 42% lower risk of stroke in the higher Vitamin C patients, but we don't know what this means in absolute terms. It is possible that there is a protective effect of Vitamin C, but it is also possible there is something fundamentally different between people who consume food high in vitamin C and those who do not. While such a study is hypothesis-generating, it is not definitive in terms of the benefit of vitamin C reducing stroke risk. Finding out if it is possible to have too much Vitamin C (and whether there any side effects related to Vitamin C intake, may be useful in such an article.

public forum

voice your opinion in the forum

• All comments and feedback submitted to Media Doctor are subject to editorial approval before being made viewable by the public. It may take up to a week for your comments to be approved. Additionally, no response will be given to questions posed in public comments. Media Doctor does not provide medical advice, or answers to medical questions posed by the public.
• If you provide your email address it will not be displayed to the general public.
• Comments may be edited by Media Doctor to remove defamatory or sensitive statements, and brand names.
• Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).