Safety of Daily Multivitamin Reaffirmed

Whereas multivitamins are the most commonly used supplement in the developed world, a number of recently published studies have differed regarding whether multivitamin/multimineral supplementation increases the risk of mortality.  H. Macpherson, from Swinburne University (Australia), and colleagues completed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled primary or secondary prevention trials that  investigated daily multivitamin/multimineral supplementation for 1 year or longer.  In total, 21 articles were included in the analysis, which generated a total pooled sample of 91,074 subjects (average age 62 years).  The researchers observed that taking a daily multivitamin/multimineral supplement does not raise the risk of all-cause mortality, or mortality specifically from cancer or vascular causes.  Further, the team found a trend for a reduced risk of all-cause mortality across primary prevention trials.  The study authors conclude that: “multivitamin-multimineral treatment has no effect on mortality risk.”