Effectiveness of Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation for Reducing Fatigue: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Tsai IC, Hsu CW, Chang CH

Published in Frontiers in Pharmacology

Methodology

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised placebo-controlled trials of CoQ10 reporting validated fatigue outcomes, pooling standardised mean differences with subgroup analyses by dose and population.

Key Findings

Meta-analysis of 13 randomised trials (1,126 participants) found coenzyme Q10 supplementation significantly reduced fatigue scores versus placebo, with larger effects at higher doses and in patients with fatigue-associated conditions such as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and statin-associated symptoms; effects in healthy people were smaller.

Conclusions

CoQ10 produces a modest but consistent reduction in fatigue, particularly in disease-related fatigue at doses of roughly 100-300 mg/day.

Limitations

Substantial heterogeneity in populations, CoQ10 formulations (ubiquinone vs ubiquinol), doses and fatigue scales; several small trials at risk of bias; possible publication bias; few long-term studies.

Supplements Studied

CoQ10

Compound

As compared with the placebo groups evaluated in each RCT, the CoQ10 group showed a statistically significant reduction in fatigue scores (Hedges g = -0.398, 95% confidence interval = -0.641 to -0.155, p = 0.001).