Long-term regular consumption of a multivitamin may reduce the risk of dying from heart disease by 16 per cent, according to a new study from the US.
Intakes of vitamin E over 215 milligrams per day over the course of ten years were also associated with a 28 per cent reduction in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, according to findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The news supports the use of multivitamins and particularly vitamin E, much-maligned and linked to increased risk of ‘all-cause mortality’ in a controversial meta-analysis in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2004.
The new study, led by Gaia Pocobelli from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at the University of Washington, also contradicts conclusions from a controversial meta-analysis published originally in the Journal of the American Medical Association (2007, Vol. 297, pp. 842-857). The meta-analysis reported that supplements of vitamins A and E, and beta-carotene may increase mortality risk by up to 16 per cent. On the other hand, vitamin C did not have an effect on mortality.
In terms of other causes of death, Pocobelli report that multivitamins did not decrease the risk of either total mortality, or cancer mortality. On the other hand, vitamins C and E were associated with small decreases in risk of total mortality.
Multivitamin use
According to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) State-of-the-Science Panel, half of the American population routinely use dietary supplements, with their annual spend estimated at over $20 billion.
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