Effects of supplementation with multivitamin and mineral on blood pressure and C-reactive protein in obese Chinese women with increased cardiovascular disease risk.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of supplementation with multivitamin and mineral on blood pressure and C-reactive protein (CRP) in obese women with increased cardiovascular disease risk as having hypertension, hyperglycemia or hyperlipemia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS 128 obese Chinese women aged 18-55 years with increased cardiovascular disease risk participated in a 26-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Subjects were randomized to four groups, and received either one tablet of high-dose multivitamin and mineral supplement (MMS), or one tablet of low-dose MMS (Low MMS), or calcium 162 mg (Calcium) or identical placebo (Placebo) daily during the study. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and serum concentrations of CRP were measured at baseline and end-trial. RESULTS At baseline, the subjects had an average age of 42.0+/-7.1 years and BMI of 30.9+/-2.8 kg/m2. There were no significant differences between the four groups in baseline characteristics. One hundred and seventeen subjects completed the study. After 26-week supplementation, both SBP and DBP were significantly lower in the MMS group compared to the placebo group (p < 0.05). There was also a non-significant trend of lower DBP at 26-week in the MMS and calcium groups compared to baseline (p < 0.08). At 26-week, the MMS group also had significantly lower serum concentrations of CRP compared with that of baseline and the placebo group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Our results showed that supplementation with adequate multivitamin and mineral supplement could reduce blood pressure and serum CRP in obese women with increased cardiovascular disease risk.