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HELSINKI, FINLAND. It is becoming increasingly evident that an adequate intake
of vitamin-C is important in preventing many infectious diseases. Dr. Harri
Hemila of the University of Helsinki now suggests that vitamin C may
specifically protect against pneumonia. Dr. Hemila reviews three clinical
trials in which two groups of subjects were evaluated for their susceptibility
to the development of pneumonia. The first study was carried out in the United
Kingdom in 1942 and involved 15- to 20-year-old school boys. During the
experiment 17 boys in the control group of 1100 developed pneumonia as compared
to zero cases in the supplement group of 335 boys. The amount of vitamin C
given to the supplement group varied between 50 and 300 mg per day. Another
study done in 1967 involved Russian military recruits with influenza (Type A).
Here 10 of 112 members of the control group developed pneumonia compared to only
two in the supplement group (300 mg/day) of 114 recruits. The most recent study
done in 1979 involved American marines. In this study seven out of 343 controls
developed pneumonia compared to only one in the supplement group of 331. The
supplement dose was 2000 mg/day. Combining the data from the three studies
shows that vitamin C supplementation decreased the risk of developing pneumonia
by more than 80 per cent. Dr. Hemila, however, cautions against drawing firm
conclusions from the three trials and recommends that further work be done in
this area.
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