This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Correction  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (2)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

To the Editor.—The conclusion of the article by Dr Rimm and colleagues¹ and the Editorial by Dr McCully² that intake of folate and vitamin B₆ above the current dietary content may be important in the primary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) in women is not warranted because the data do not prove that the association established is a causal one. For such proof, controlled trials with homocysteine-lowering therapy are required.

The data in the study by Rimm et al actually support a confounding variable rather than a causal factor. Lifestyles of the women in the lowest quintile were definitely unhealthy as estimated by the presence of hypertension, amount of exercise, and intake of fat, fiber, and alcohol. In contrast, women in the highest quintiles had healthy lifestyles to the extent of taking vitamin supplements.

Although some of the risk factors for CHD were adjusted in the analysis, others . . . [Full Text of this Article]

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

RELATED ARTICLES

Folate and Vitamin B₆ From Diet and Supplements in Relation to Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Among Women
Eric B. Rimm, Walter C. Willett, Frank B. Hu, Laura Sampson, Graham A. Colditz, JoAnn E. Manson, Charles Hennekens, and Meir J. Stampfer
JAMA. 1998;279(5):359-364.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Homocysteine, Folate, Vitamin B₆, and Cardiovascular Disease
Kilmer S. McCully
JAMA. 1998;279(5):392-393.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Low Dietary Folate Intake Is Associated With an Excess Incidence of Acute Coronary Events : The Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study
Voutilainen et al.
Circulation 2001;103:2674-2680.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT