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Aug 12, 2024

Multivitamins could potentially shorten your lifespan

By Lisa Marie Basile | Fact-checked by Davi Sherman

Published July 16, 2024
  • A new cohort study published in JAMA Network Open analyzed data from nearly 400,000 participants over 20 years and found that the use of multivitamins (MV) wasn’t associated with longevity, building on what experts already suspected.

  • The study also found a 4% increase in mortality among those who use MV, although there’s no clear reason why this was the case.

  • Experts say that people who are concerned about nutritional deficiencies should eat a well-rounded diet.

A new cohort study tracking nearly 400,000 generally healthy adults over 20 years found that daily multivitamin (MV) intake isn’t associated with a longer life.[1] However, one in three adults in the US take MV without clear evidence that the daily supplement boosts longevity.

The researchers noted that in 2022, the US Preventive Services Task Force found insufficient evidence for determining MV benefits and harms. Studies on MV benefits haven’t been very clear over the years, the researchers say—mostly due to study heterogeneity and the ‘healthy user effect’ or ‘sick user effect.’

For example, one study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found “no clear decrease or increase in mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer and in morbidity from overall or major cancers among multivitamin supplement users.”[2]

On the other hand, an article in Clinical Interventions in Aging found that specific vitamins could potentially cause harm: “Much of the enthusiasm for the use of vitamin or mineral supplements to prevent disease or increase longevity results from the belief that supplementation is harmless. However, serious adverse events have been reported.”[3

Read more: https://rb.gy/5fy1fa

Source: MD Link

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