Vitamin pills 'increase risk of death'!
By ukchriss
@ukchriss (2097)
February 28, 2007 4:59pm CST
Common vitamin pills may "significantly" increase the risk of death, a new study has found.
Vitamin A, vitamin E and beta carotene taken singly or with other supplements "significantly increase mortality", according to scientists from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark.
The researchers found no evidence that Vitamin C could increase longevity, while selenium tended to reduce the risk of death.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, involved analysis of 68 previous trials of the five antioxidant supplements, involving 232,606 participants.
The Copenhagen team singled out 47 "low-bias risk" trials, with 180,938 participants, as being the best quality.
Based on these low-bias studies, the supplements were found to be associated with a five per cent increased risk of mortality.
Taking beta carotene was associated with a seven per cent risk, vitamin A with a 16 per cent risk and vitamin E with a four per cent risk, while there was no increased mortality risk with vitamin C or selenium.
The authors wrote: "Our findings contradict the findings of observational studies, claiming that antioxidants improve health.
"Considering that 10-20 per cent of the adult population (80-160 million people) in North America and Europe may consume the assessed supplements, the public health consequences may be substantial.''
If you take them, will this put you off taking vitamins?
4 people like this
4 responses
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
28 Feb 07
Up until last year I had always thought that you could take as many vitamins as you wanted and not have to worry about getting too many or any side effects . Then they found that I had different problems like with my pressure and Thyroid and things like that and I had to be put on a bunch of different prescriptions , at this time , I found out that there are a lot of vitamins and natural pills that I was not allowed to take for fear of side effects . I never realized anything like this could be dangerous but it really can . I didn't realize that Viatmin A and Vitamin E could be dangerous either , goes to show that when we think we are taking something to help us out we find out that it could have dangerous side effects even from this type of stuff .
1 person likes this
@patootie (3592)
•
10 Mar 07
Heheh .. I saw this and must admit I had to laugh .. first we 'have to' take vitamin supplements .. now we are advised not to ..
Personally I think a little of everything is the best way .. and if I had a full and varied diet I would be getting all these vitamins anyway .. but they haven't told people to stop eating have they !!
1 person likes this
@redyellowblackdog (10629)
• United States
28 Feb 07
I have read more about this study by the AMA journal elsewhere. It is very suspect.
The problem is with their determination of "low bias" and "high quality" studies. We have absolutely no way of determining that the authors did not merely adjust the criteria to eliminate the studies they did not like.
The AMA has had a bias against people taking supplements for decades. Why in the world should we trust their determination of "low bias" when they are themselves biased?
Better would be that if a study was poorly done or bad science, they point out why. Merely adjusting vague subjective criteria to obtain the conslusion you want is not even real science.
1 person likes this
@freesoul (3021)
• Egypt
1 Mar 07
This is very interesting but it will not make me stop taking my daily multi vitamins-minerals pill :) I believe that studies are very contradictories and if you follow every thing you read you will not be eating anything at all! I guess the thing is just be moderate with everything you consume, vitamins are natural part of our diet, normal or moderate doses of extra vitamins can't do us any harm unless another study proves that supplement vitamins are not healthy as natural ones I will continue to take my daily pill :)
