What are the effects of vitamin C on the duration and severity of the common cold?

source extracted confidence: high 2026-04-09
#ascorbic-acid #common-cold #databases-factual #humans #randomized-controlled-trials-as-topic

What are the effects of vitamin C on the duration and severity of the common cold?

Quidel et al., 2018 | Medwave | Meta Analysis

Citation

Quidel Sebastián, Gómez Evelyn, ... Ortigoza Ángela. What are the effects of vitamin C on the duration and severity of the common cold?. Medwave. 2018-Oct-03;18(6):e7261. doi:10.5867/medwave.2018.06.7260

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The common cold causes great morbidity throughout the world and there are no effective therapeutic agents against it. There is a belief that consuming vitamin C during a cold episode would help reduce duration and severity of symptoms. However, there is controversy about this claim. METHODS: To answer this question we used Epistemonikos, the largest database of systematic reviews in health, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, among others. We extracted data from the systematic reviews, reanalyzed data of primary studies, conducted a meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings table using the GRADE approach. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We identified four systematic reviews that included eight primary studies overall, of which seven were randomized trials. We concluded vitamin C has minimal or no impact on the duration of common cold or in the number of days at home or out of work.

Key Findings

We identified four systematic reviews that included eight primary studies overall, of which seven were randomized trials. We concluded vitamin C has minimal or no impact on the duration of common cold or in the number of days at home or out of work.

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population See abstract
Sample Size See abstract
Age Range See abstract
Condition See abstract

MeSH Terms

  • Ascorbic Acid
  • Common Cold
  • Databases, Factual
  • Humans
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Time Factors
  • Treatment Outcome

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Meta Analysis
  • Publication Types: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Review
  • Vertical: vitamin-c

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09