Medical Dialogues
  • Dermatology
Login Register
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
Login Register
  • MD Brand Connect
  • Vaccine Hub
  • MDTV
    • Breaking News
    • Medical News Today
    • Health News Today
    • Latest
    • Journal Club
    • Medico Legal Update
    • Latest Webinars
    • MD Shorts
    • Health Dialogues
  • Fact Check
  • Health Dialogues
Medical Dialogues
  • Medical News & Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cardiology and CTVS
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endocrinology
      • ENT
      • Gastroenterology
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Obstretics-Gynaecology
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics-Neonatology
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
      • Laboratory Medicine
      • Diet
      • Nursing
      • Paramedical
      • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
      • Doctor News
      • Government Policies
      • Hospital & Diagnostics
      • International Health News
      • Medical Organization News
      • Medico Legal News
      • NBE News
      • NMC News
  • Fact Check
      • Bone Health Fact Check
      • Brain Health Fact Check
      • Cancer Related Fact Check
      • Child Care Fact Check
      • Dental and oral health fact check
      • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
      • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
      • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
      • Fitness fact check
      • Gut health fact check
      • Heart health fact check
      • Kidney health fact check
      • Medical education fact check
      • Men's health fact check
      • Respiratory fact check
      • Skin and hair care fact check
      • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
      • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Siddha
    • Unani
    • Yoga
  • State News
      • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
      • Andhra Pradesh
      • Arunachal Pradesh
      • Assam
      • Bihar
      • Chandigarh
      • Chattisgarh
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
      • Daman and Diu
      • Delhi
      • Goa
      • Gujarat
      • Haryana
      • Himachal Pradesh
      • Jammu & Kashmir
      • Jharkhand
      • Karnataka
      • Kerala
      • Ladakh
      • Lakshadweep
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Manipur
      • Meghalaya
      • Mizoram
      • Nagaland
      • Odisha
      • Puducherry
      • Punjab
      • Rajasthan
      • Sikkim
      • Tamil Nadu
      • Telangana
      • Tripura
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Uttrakhand
      • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
      • Ayush Education News
      • Dentistry Education News
      • Medical Admission News
      • Medical Colleges News
      • Medical Courses News
      • Medical Universities News
      • Nursing education News
      • Paramedical Education News
      • Study Abroad
  • Industry
      • Health Investment News
      • Health Startup News
      • Medical Devices News
      • Pharma News
      • Pharmacy Education News
      • Industry Perspective
  • MDTV
      • Health Dialogues MDTV
      • Health News today MDTV
      • Latest Videos MDTV
      • Latest Webinars MDTV
      • MD shorts MDTV
      • Medical News Today MDTV
      • Medico Legal Update MDTV
      • Top Videos MDTV
      • Health Perspectives MDTV
      • Journal Club MDTV
      • Medical Dialogues Show
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
LoginRegister
Medical Dialogues
LoginRegister
  • Home
  • Medical news & Guidelines
    • Anesthesiology
    • Cardiology and CTVS
    • Critical Care
    • Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diabetes and Endocrinology
    • ENT
    • Gastroenterology
    • Medicine
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstretics-Gynaecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopaedics
    • Pediatrics-Neonatology
    • Psychiatry
    • Pulmonology
    • Radiology
    • Surgery
    • Urology
    • Laboratory Medicine
    • Diet
    • Nursing
    • Paramedical
    • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
    • Doctor News
    • Government Policies
    • Hospital & Diagnostics
    • International Health News
    • Medical Organization News
    • Medico Legal News
    • NBE News
    • NMC News
  • Fact Check
    • Bone Health Fact Check
    • Brain Health Fact Check
    • Cancer Related Fact Check
    • Child Care Fact Check
    • Dental and oral health fact check
    • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
    • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
    • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
    • Fitness fact check
    • Gut health fact check
    • Heart health fact check
    • Kidney health fact check
    • Medical education fact check
    • Men's health fact check
    • Respiratory fact check
    • Skin and hair care fact check
    • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
    • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
      • Ayurveda Giuidelines
      • Ayurveda News
    • Homeopathy
      • Homeopathy Guidelines
      • Homeopathy News
    • Siddha
      • Siddha Guidelines
      • Siddha News
    • Unani
      • Unani Guidelines
      • Unani News
    • Yoga
      • Yoga Guidelines
      • Yoga News
  • State News
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chandigarh
    • Chattisgarh
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
    • Daman and Diu
    • Delhi
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jammu & Kashmir
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Puducherry
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttrakhand
    • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
    • Ayush Education News
    • Dentistry Education News
    • Medical Admission News
    • Medical Colleges News
    • Medical Courses News
    • Medical Universities News
    • Nursing education News
    • Paramedical Education News
    • Study Abroad
  • Industry
    • Health Investment News
    • Health Startup News
    • Medical Devices News
    • Pharma News
      • CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) News
    • Pharmacy Education News
    • Industry Perspective
  • Home
  • Pulmonology
  • Pulmonology News
  • Vitamin C Deficiency...

Vitamin C Deficiency Linked to Poor Lung Recovery and Delayed Tuberculosis Clearance, Study Finds

Written By : Medha Baranwal |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2025-06-02T21:00:51+05:30  |  Updated On 3 Jun 2025 12:16 PM IST
Vitamin C Deficiency Linked to Poor Lung Recovery and Delayed Tuberculosis Clearance, Study Finds
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Email

Romania: A recent prospective study published in Frontiers in Medicine highlights the crucial role of vitamin C in influencing the course and treatment outcomes of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The findings reveal that vitamin C deficiency slows bacterial clearance during therapy and contributes to more severe lung damage and impaired respiratory function.

Patients with low vitamin C levels had slower recovery, with only 68% achieving bacterial clearance at six months versus 89.8% in those with normal levels. They also showed more lung damage—bronchiectasis, fibrosis, and cavitary lesions—and greater declines in lung function, including a 12% drop in forced vital capacity and a larger decrease in the Tiffeneau index (3.34 vs. 2.13).

Vitamin C is essential for a robust immune response to tuberculosis, and its deficiency can elevate the risk of TB and related complications. Despite its importance, the connection between vitamin C levels and the severity of TB has not been thoroughly explored.

Ramona Cioboata, Department of Pneumology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova, Romania, and colleagues sought to bridge this gap by investigating the relationship between vitamin C deficiency, disease severity, and imaging findings in TB patients. The study highlighted that low vitamin C levels were linked to worse disease outcomes, underscoring the critical role of this nutrient in both the immune response and overall TB management.

For this purpose, the researchers enrolled 109 patients with confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis, diagnosed through Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture. The participants were divided into two groups based on their serum vitamin C levels: 59 patients (54.13%) with normal levels and 50 patients (45.87%) with low levels.

The study revealed the following findings:

  • At baseline, patients with low vitamin C levels had higher bacillary loads, with 86% showing loads of 2+ or higher, compared to 59.32% in the normal group.
  • After two months, 83.05% of the normal vitamin C group achieved culture conversion, while only 28% of the low vitamin C group reached this milestone.
  • CT scans at baseline showed that the low vitamin C group had a higher frequency of the tree-in-bud pattern (2.66 vs. 2.05).
  • The low vitamin C group also had more cavitary lesions, especially in the superior right and left lobes.
  • After six months, the low vitamin C group had a higher prevalence of bronchiectasis (0.58 vs. 0.16), cavitary lesions (0.32 vs. 0.00), and fibrosis (0.90 vs. 0.36).
  • Pulmonary function tests revealed greater impairment in the low vitamin C group, with a 5.77% decrease in forced expiratory volume, a 12% reduction in forced vital capacity (FVC), and a 3.34-point drop in the Tiffeneau index.
  • Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that FVC and forced expiratory flow were stronger predictors of treatment success in patients with normal vitamin C levels.

The authors concluded that vitamin C deficiency in tuberculosis patients is associated with greater disease severity, delayed bacterial clearance, and persistent lung damage. They suggested vitamin C supplementation could support standard TB therapy and improve outcomes.

However, they acknowledged limitations such as the study’s observational design, small sample size, and potential confounding factors like diet, smoking, and comorbidities. They called for larger, randomized trials to confirm these findings and establish causality.

Reference:

Cioboata, R., Balteanu, M. A., Zlatian, O. M., Vlasceanu, S. G., Driga, M. V., Mitroi, D. M., Catana, O. M., Buciu, C. I., Camen, G., & Mirea, A. A. (2025). Impact of vitamin C deficiency on imaging patterns and ventilatory function in pulmonary tuberculosis. Frontiers in Medicine, 12, 1554723. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2025.1554723


Frontiers in Medicinepulmonary tuberculosischest imagingCT scanvitamin C deficiency
Source : Frontiers in Medicine
Medha Baranwal
Medha Baranwal

    MSc. Biotechnology

    Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
    Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

    Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

    Show Full Article
    Next Story

    Editorial

    Aspirin Use in Male Smokers Aged 40-45 Years with Hypertension: Identifying the Ideal Candidates

    Aspirin Use in Male Smokers Aged 40-45 Years with Hypertension: Identifying the Ideal Candidates

    National Consensus 2025 on Role of Bisoprolol Across CV Continuum in Women: Top 10 Takeaways

    National Consensus 2025 on Role of Bisoprolol Across CV Continuum in Women: Top 10 Takeaways

    Relevance of Pioglitazone in Indian T2DM Care Continuum

    Relevance of Pioglitazone in Indian T2DM Care Continuum

    Azmarda Outperforms Generic Sacubitril/Valsartan in HFrEF Management, says new study

    Azmarda Outperforms Generic Sacubitril/Valsartan in HFrEF Management, says new study

    First Indian Consensus on Managing Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Recommends Vonoprazan

    First Indian Consensus on Managing Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Recommends Vonoprazan

    View All

    Journal Club Today

    New Nasal Deformity Classification System May Enhance Standardization in Cleft Lip and Palate Assessment: Research Shows

    New Nasal Deformity Classification System May Enhance Standardization in Cleft Lip and Palate...

    View All

    Health News Today

    Health Bulletin 03/June/2025

    Health Bulletin 03/June/2025

    View All
    © 2022 All Rights Reserved.
    Powered By: Hocalwire
    X
    We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok