F.Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland

Roche's Vitamins and Fine Chemicals Division is the world's largest producer of vitamins and carotenoids. The knowledge obtained through Roche's human and animal research programs constitute an important contribution towards the prevention of disease around the world.

Analysis of Relationship Between Vitamin Status and Psychological Functioning
Data Management for Infant Nutrition Study

Analysis of the Relationship Between Vitamin Status and Psychological Functioning

An Investigation by Prof. David Benton, University College, Swansea

It is well known that appropriate vitamin supplementation can enhance both our state of health and our mental performance. The challenge posed by this particular study, which was executed by Prof. Benton in cooperation with the Roche Human Nutrition Department, was to understand the impact of vitamin levels in plasma on mood states and psychological performance.

The statistical assessment of this study, done by a team from Hochkoeppler Initiatives, Basel and MSI AG, Buchs using WIDAS software gave a clear indication of the favourable effects of vitamin supplementation on mood, feelings of well-being and mental performance. The full range of statistical methods integrated in WIDAS was applied to this task, from descriptive statistics, parametric and non-parametric tests, data transforms, graphics, multiple correlation and multivariate analysis.

Data Management for Infant Nutrition Study

The Vitamins and Fine Chemicals Division of Roche entrusted Hochkoeppler Initiatives of Basel with the setting up and maintenance of the study database for a double-blind, randomized study that compared the effect of standard milk formula with and without the addition of borage oil and/or fish oil on the arachidonic acid status in prematurely born babies. WIDAS was used to design data entry forms, to manage the data in a relational database and, at the conclusion of the study, to produce the data extracts required by Roche for final evaluation.