Giving nursing home residents a daily dose of vitamin E may offer a little help in reducing the risk of upper respiratory tract infections, such as the common cold, according to new study findings released Tuesday.

Studies have shown that vitamin E can boost the immune system in the elderly, and in the current study, slightly fewer people who received vitamin E supplements developed one or more respiratory infection of any kind during the study period. Vitamin E recipients also appeared somewhat less likely to develop the common cold.

However, the vitamin supplement did not reduce the number of respiratory tract infections overall or help nursing home residents recover faster from the illness, the authors report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In an interview, lead author Dr. Simin Nikbin Meydani explained that vitamin E did appear to offer slight protection from respiratory tract infections overall, but the difference was so small, she and her colleagues were unable to rule out whether it was due to chance.

However, the fact that vitamin E protected the elderly from common colds and one or more infections suggests that the supplement may, in fact, work, she told Reuters Health.

Consequently, despite the seemingly contradictory nature of the findings, Meydani, who is based at Tufts University in Boston, recommended that nursing home residents receive vitamin E supplements to protect them from these infections.

Meydani explained that respiratory tract infections fall into two groups: upper and lower. Upper respiratory tract infections, which include the common cold, are typically caused by viruses, while lower infections, such as pneumonia, are often the result of bacterial infections.

Previous research has shown that vitamin E is particularly good at fighting viruses, Meydani noted, which may explain why the supplement appeared to beat upper respiratory tract infections better than lower infections.

“We are planning studies to confirm this,” she said.

According to Meydani and her colleagues, elderly people admitted to nursing homes are more likely to develop infections, including respiratory tract infections, than elderly people who still live at home. Old age is also typically associated with a decrease in the functioning of the immune system.

To investigate the effects of vitamin E supplements, the researchers followed 617 elderly nursing home residents for approximately one year, and asked half to take a 200 IU capsule of vitamin E daily - a dose shown in previous research to boost immune functioning in the elderly.

The researchers found that people who received vitamin E were just as likely to develop a respiratory tract infection as non-supplement users, and the infections lasted equally long in both groups.

Supplement users were also just as likely to have to take antibiotics, visit the emergency department and be hospitalized for respiratory tract infections as non-users.

However, slightly fewer supplement users developed one or more respiratory tract infections during the study period, and vitamin-takers were 20 percent less likely to develop a common cold.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, August 18, 2004.