Multivitamins
do not promote cardiovascular health
American Heart Association
Taking multivitamin and mineral supplements does not prevent
heart attacks, strokes or cardiovascular death, according to a new analysis of
18 studies published in Circulation:
Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association
journal.
"We
meticulously evaluated the body of scientific evidence," said study lead
author Joonseok Kim, M.D., assistant professor of cardiology in the Department
of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "We found no
clinical benefit of multivitamin and mineral use to prevent heart attacks, strokes
or cardiovascular death."
The
research team performed a "meta-analysis," putting together the
results from 18 individual published studies, including randomized controlled
trials and prospective cohort studies, totaling more than 2 million participants
and having an average of 12 years of follow-up. They found no association
between taking multivitamin and mineral supplements and a lower risk of death
from cardiovascular diseases.
"It has been exceptionally difficult to convince people, including nutritional researchers, to acknowledge that multivitamin and mineral supplements don't prevent cardiovascular diseases," said Kim. "I hope our study findings help decrease the hype around multivitamin and mineral supplements and encourage people to use proven methods to reduce their risk of cardiovascular diseases -- such as eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising and avoiding tobacco."
According
to the United States Food and Drug Administration, unlike drugs, there are no
provisions in the law for the agency to "approve" dietary supplements
for safety or effectiveness before they reach the consumer, nor can the
product's label make health claims to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or
prevent a disease. As many as 30 percent of Americans use multivitamin and
mineral supplements, with the global nutritional supplement industry expected
to reach $278 billion by 2024.
Controversy
about the effectiveness of multivitamin and mineral supplements to prevent
cardiovascular diseases has been going on for years, despite numerous
well-conducted research studies suggesting they don't help. The authors set out
to combine the results from previously published scientific studies to help
clarify the topic.
"Although
multivitamin and mineral supplements taken in moderation rarely cause direct
harm, we urge people to protect their heart health by understanding their
individual risk for heart disease and stroke and working with a healthcare
provider to create a plan that uses proven measures to reduce risk. These
include a heart-healthy diet, exercise, tobacco cessation, controlling blood
pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels, and when needed, medical
treatment," Kim said.
The
American Heart Association does not recommend using multivitamin or mineral
supplements to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
"Eat
a healthy diet for a healthy heart and a long, healthy life," said Eduardo
Sanchez, M.D., the American Heart Association's chief medical officer for
prevention and chief of the Association's Centers for Health Metrics and Evaluation,
who was not a part of this study. "There's just no substitute for a
balanced, nutritious diet with more fruits and vegetables that limits excess
calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, sugar and dietary
cholesterol."
