The effect of zinc and vitamin A supplementation on immune response in an older population.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are older adults, both men and women.

A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial of supplementation with vitamin A and zinc.

One hundred thirty-six residents agreed to participate in the trial and were randomized into four treatment groups, and 118 of these residents completed the trial.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled.

Because people in this Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc could be set against what happens without it.

Casa Di Riposo Roma III, a public home for older people in Rome, Italy.

The health and nutritional status of 178 residents were evaluated.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Dietary Supplements, Immunity, Cellular, Leukocyte Count, Lymphocytes, T-Lymphocyte Subsets, Vitamin A and Zinc.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 1998 (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.