Vitamin E use and congestive heart failure in the cardiovascular health study

In the Cardiovascular Health Study, a population‐based, longitudinal study of coronary heart disease and stroke in adults 65 years and older, we examined the association of vitamin E use with incident hospitalization for congestive heart failure (CHF) and of committee‐adjudicated CHF over an average of 8.3 years. Vitamin E use was assessed by prescription or over‐the‐counter medications presented or self‐reported use at eight annual contacts beginning in 1992. Those with any history of CHF, or no assessment of vitamin E use, were excluded from the analyses. In time‐dependent Cox regression analyses (N=3569, 1211 events) adjusted for age, gender and race, vitamin E use was not significantly associated with the combined outcome of incident CHF or hospitalization for CHF [Hazard Ratio (HR)=0.87, 95% Confidence Interval (CI)=0.75, 1.01]. Adjustment for CHF risk factors and potential confounders did not appreciably alter this association. When adjusted for age, gender and race vitamin E use was significantly inversely associated with first hospitalization for CHF (1082 events, HR=0.78, 95%CI=0.67, 0.91), but was no longer significant after adjustment for CHF risk factors (HR=0.86, 95%CI=0.73, 1.01). These results do not support the reported association of vitamin E use with increased risk for CHF as reported in recent randomized trials (HOPE TOO and GISSI Prevenzione). Funded by: Pharmavite LLC.