Supplementation with omega-3 plus vitamin E and zinc plus vitamin C on metabolic syndrome components in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes

Background: The aim of this study was to find the influence of supplementation with omega-3 plus vitamin E and vitamin C plus zinc on metabolic syndrome components. Methods: In a double-blind controlled clinical trial, 75 diabetic postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to one of the three therapeutic groups of daily supplementation of 1.8g omega-3 plus 400mg vitamin E (group A), 5mg zinc plus 300mg vitamin C (group B), or placebo (group C) for 12 weeks and the results were evaluated. Results: One-way repeated measures ANOVA showed that systolic and diastolic blood pressure and waist circumference showed significant difference before and after the intervention (P= 0.0001, 0.001, and 0.045, respectively). Results of Univariate ANOVA showed that the level of plasma fasting blood sugar (FBS) and HDL-cholesterol significantly increased (P=0.01 and P=0.03, respectively) in patients who had been diagnosed as diabetic ≤7 years in group B. The plasma TG concentration significantly decreased (P=0.007) in patients who had been diagnosed as diabetic ≤7 years in group A. Systolic and diastolic BP significantly decreased (P=0.005 and P=0.04, respectively) in patients who had been diagnosed as diabetic ≤7 years in group A. The most effectiveness of nutraceutical supplementation was on patients that had been diagnosed as diabetic ≤7 years. Plasma TG and systolic BP decreased with omega-3 plus vitamin E; however, plasma FBS and HDL- cholesterol increased with zinc plus vitamin C supplementation. Conclusion: Several factors, such as duration of diabetes, age, gender, pathophysiology status, genetic, and other anthropometric characteristics may influence the effectiveness of supplementation.