Does the consumption of Vitamin B prevent risk of stroke?

The available data about the protective effect of vitamin B against stroke are contradictory. Researchers have been looking for more clarity – and they partially found her.

Ability of supplementation with vitamins B decreases the risk of stroke, is controversial among experts. Now neurologists wants to make more clarity by 14 intervention studies. They will evaluating the B-vitamin supplementation. And on this time they were renounced from very small studies or those with poorly defined endpoints. The result of the meta-analysis: A dietary supplement with B vitamins may reduce the risk of stroke a little – especially in high-risk patients who are not optimally supplied with medication.

Low benefit from Vitamin B.

At the studies had took part nearly 55,000 people. Overall occurred during the period of 2417 strokes, in 1188 happened in the group with vitamin B supplement and 1283 in the group without supplementation. The absolute risk of stroke was reduced by half a percentage point in the group in which vitamin B were intake. To put it simply, the rate of stroke was lower by seven percent in the groups with people who take vitamin. The difference was small, but significantly. No significant differences between the two groups wasn’t made on the topic ща heart attacks.

The researchers analyzed in a second step, speed of development of stroke in different groups. However, the stroke risk reduction was apparently insignificant when began the vitamin B supplementation. For participants with good cardiovascular risk control, however, a benefit of dietary supplement was hardly evident.

Younger people may have benefit more from Vitamin B preparations.

So if patient with stroke risk already well cared with medical preparations, supplements of vitamin B apparently will give negligible result. However, we can found an interesting iinformation about benefit resulted in the case of younger people. In their studies has marked a reduced risk of stroke in younger persons whose take B-vitamin as a supplements. The researchers suspect that they may be more sensitive to supplementation of Vitamin B. However, this must be proved in controlled trials.