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Blood pressure lowering efficacy of coenzyme Q10 for primary hypertension

Meghan J Ho, Edmond C K Li, James M Wright
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016 2016(3):CD007435

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 26935713
PubMed Central
PMC6486033
DOI
10.1002/14651858.CD007435.pub3
Funding
Cochrane systematic review; no dedicated commercial funding was identified in the accessible review record used for this audit.
Competing interests
No material competing-interest signal was identified in the accessible review record used for this audit.

Study snapshot

DesignCochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
ModelAdults with primary hypertension; double-blind randomized placebo-controlled CoQ10 trials lasting at least three weeks.
Sample3 eligible trials; 2 trials with 50 participants pooled after one study was excluded from meta-analysis for unacceptably high risk of bias.
InterventionCoQ10 versus placebo in primary hypertension.
DurationAt least 3 weeks by inclusion criteria.
EndpointsSystolic blood pressure; Diastolic blood pressure; Adverse events; Risk of bias; Evidence quality

What the study showed, in plain terms

This Cochrane review applied much stricter eligibility and bias criteria than the older positive hypertension literature. Only two small trials with 50 participants were suitable for pooling.

The pooled estimates did not show a statistically significant reduction in either systolic or diastolic blood pressure. The result does not prove CoQ10 has zero effect; it shows that high-quality primary-hypertension evidence was too small and uncertain to establish benefit.

Key findings

Systolic blood pressure: mean difference -3.68 mmHg (95% CI -8.86 to +1.49), not statistically significant.

Diastolic blood pressure: mean difference -2.03 mmHg (95% CI -4.86 to +0.81), not statistically significant.

One eligible trial was excluded from the pooled analysis because it was judged at unacceptably high risk of bias.

What this study can and cannot tell us

The pooled evidence contained only two trials and 50 participants, producing wide confidence intervals.

The review could not resolve whether a small clinically relevant effect exists because the evidence base was severely underpowered.

The findings apply to primary hypertension under strict randomized placebo-controlled criteria and should not be generalized to every cardiometabolic population.

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Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology