The amino acid, homocysteine, has been linked directly to cardiovascular risk in repeated studies and certain B vitamins, especially folic acid (B9), B6, and B12, are known to reduce homocysteine levels in the bloodstream.  The findings from a recent study that followed 5,442 female healthcare professionals in the United States for more than seven years revealed a generally reduced level of homocysteine but no reduction in the number of cardiovascular events experienced by the study participants.

The research team, led by Christine M. Albert, MD, MPH, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, gave a randomly selected group of study participants a combination of these three antioxidant B vitamins while a control group received a placebo.  All participants were at least 42 years old and either had a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or had three or more risk factors associated with coronary disease.

During more than seven years of follow-up study, 14.6% (796) of the study participants experienced at least one primary end point - coronary revascularization, heart attack, stroke, or CVD death.  The number of such events in the active, or treated, group (406, or 14.9%) was statistically insignificant when compared to that of the placebo group (390, or 14.3%).

Under closer analysis, researchers discovered no substantial difference between treated and placebo groups for each of the primary end points and found no significant difference for the risk of death due to these events in either group.

The most striking difference between groups is that the treated group, those receiving the B vitamins, did measure plasma homocysteine levels at an average of 18.5% lower than those in the control, or placebo, group.

The research team concludes their findings are consistent with similar studies of men and there is no evidence that taking folic acid or other B-vitamin supplements is an effective means of preventing cardiovascular events in people who are at high risk.

Full details of the study are available in the May 8 issue of JAMA and Archives Journals.