Daily multivitamin use does not reduce cardiovascular disease risk in men

Brigham and Women's Hospital study is the first to examine the long-term affect of multivitamins on cardiovascular disease

2012-11-06

(Press-News.org) Boston, Mass. – Approximately one-third of Americans take a daily multivitamin, but little is known about a multivitamin's long-term affect on chronic diseases. Now, new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) finds that daily multivitamin use does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in men. A similar BWH study, announced last month, found daily multivitamin use can reduce a man's risk of cancer by 8 percent. The cardiovascular disease findings will be presented Nov. 5 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012 and published simultaneously in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"The findings from our large clinical trial do not support the use of a common daily multivitamin supplement for the sole purpose of preventing cardiovascular disease in men," said Howard D. Sesso, ScD, lead author and an associate epidemiologist in the Division of Preventive Medicine at BWH. "The decision to take a daily multivitamin should be made in consultation with one's doctor and consideration given to an individual's nutritional status and other potential effects of multivitamins, including the previously reported modest reduction in cancer risk."

Researchers enrolled nearly 15,000 men over the age of 50 in the study and followed them for more than 10 years. The men were randomly assigned to take either a multivitamin or a placebo every day which ensured that both treatment groups were identical with respect to risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The men self-reported episodes of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular disease, and a panel of physicians reviewed and confirmed their events with medical records. Researchers then compared the group that took the multivitamin with the group that took the placebo and found no significant impact on risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular mortality. Additionally, the effect of a daily multivitamin on major cardiovascular events did not differ on participants with a baseline history of cardiovascular disease and those who were initially free of cardiovascular disease.

J. Michael Gaziano, MD, chief of the Division of Aging at BWH, investigator at VA Boston and senior author of the study, said, "Since so many Americans take daily multivitamins, studies like this are key to providing us with valuable information about what specific benefits multivitamins do or do not provide in terms of their long-term impact on chronic diseases. For cardiovascular disease, we must continue to emphasize a heart-healthy diet, physical activity, smoking cessation and regular screening for cardiovascular risk factors."

### This research was supported by grants CA 097193, CA 34944, CA 40360, HL 26490 and HL 34595 from the National Institutes of Health and an investigator-initiated grant from BASF Corporation. Study agents and packaging were provided by BASF Corporation and Pfizer (formerly Wyeth, American Home Products and Lederle) and study packaging was provided by DSM Nutritional Products, Inc. (formerly Roche Vitamins).

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Tech fund boosts Binghamton inventors

2012-11-06

BINGHAMTON, NY -- Binghamton University researcher Ron Miles invented a tiny directional microphone — suitable for use in hearing aids — that filters out unwanted sounds. Now, with help from the SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund, he hopes to bring the idea to the marketplace. Technology for the hearing-impaired is hardly perfect. The small microphones contained within hearing aids do a good job of boosting volume, but that can be a problem in a noisy restaurant as background sounds get boosted as much as your dinner date's conversation. Miles used a tiny structure found ...

Medical care presents update on pharmaceutical health services research

2012-11-06

Philadelphia, Pa. (November 5, 2012) - Pharmaceutical health services research goes beyond studying the effects of individual drugs, to looking at the complex and interrelated effects of medications on the health of patients and the population. The special November issue of Medical Care highlights important new papers in key areas of pharmaceutical health services research. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The 14 papers in the special issue cover a wide range of topics related to the health effects of marketed ...

Air exposure between blinks affects deposits on contact lenses

2012-11-06

Philadelphia, Pa. (November 5, 2012) - Modern contact lens materials are prone to drying when exposed to air, which contributes to the buildup of deposits on contact lenses, according to a study – "The Impact of Intermittent Air Exposure on Lipid Deposition", appearing in the November issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. With significant differences between materials, the buildup of lipid deposits on contact lenses is affected ...

Assessing the risk of heart attack and stroke among Hispanics

2012-11-06

A study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) indicated that many Hispanic/Latino adults living in the United States are at high risk for heart attack or stroke. This risk is highest in men and in older people, born in the US or that have lived in the US more than 10 years, that prefer to speak English, are lower income, or never finished high school. "The finding that longer residence in the US increases disease risk may seem counterintuitive, but has previously been reported," says study co-author Schneiderman, James L. Knight Professor ...

We're more passive than we predict when sexually harassed, new study shows

2012-11-06

Sexual harassment is devastating in and of itself for its victims, but new research shows there can be an even more insidious and troubling consequence that goes along with it: When confronted with sexual harassment, we don't stand up for ourselves to the extent we believe we will, and because we use false predictions as a benchmark, we condemn others who are passive in the face of sexual harassment, according to a new study co-authored by Ann Tenbrunsel, professor of business ethics at the University of Notre Dame. In "Double Victimization in the Workplace: Why ...

Superbug MRSA identified in US wastewater treatment plants

2012-11-06

College Park, Md. – A team led by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health has found that the "superbug" methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is prevalent at several U.S. wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). MRSA is well known for causing difficult-to-treat and potentially fatal bacterial infections in hospital patients, but since the late 1990s it has also been infecting otherwise healthy people in community settings. "MRSA infections acquired outside of hospital settings – known as community-acquired MRSA or CA-MRSA– are on the ...

HIV and AIDS prevention--Progress and the challenges ahead

2012-11-06

New Rochelle, NY, November 5, 2012—At least 2 million people worldwide will be infected with HIV this year, driving the need for better HIV prevention strategies to slow the global pandemic. A better understanding of how to prevent HIV transmission using antiviral drugs led to approval of the first oral pill for HIV prevention, and microbicides delivered as topical gels or via intravaginal rings are in clinical testing and have yielded both positive and negative results. The complex factors involved in the sexual transmission of HIV, the urgent need for new preventive approaches, ...

Imaging facility develops successful radiation dose reduction program

2012-11-06

According to an article in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, a medical imaging facility in San Diego, Imaging Healthcare Specialists, has implemented a successful radiation dose reduction program, reducing radiation exposure by up to 90 percent in some patients. "In the past decade, there have been unparalleled technological advances and growth in CT imaging, with many lives saved and more costly and invasive procedures avoided. This growth in CT imaging, however, has also been accompanied by an unavoidable increase in cumulative ...

November 2012 story tips

2012-11-06

ENVIRONMENT – Ozone affecting watersheds . . . U.S. Forest Service and Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have found that rising levels of ozone may amplify the impacts of higher temperatures and reduce streamflow from forests to rivers, streams and other water bodies. Such effects could potentially reduce water supplies available to support forest ecosystems and people in the southeastern United States. Using data on atmospheric water supply and demand and statistical models, researchers with the Forest Service and ORNL were able to show what effects ozone, categorized ...

Bypass surgery improves survival for patients with diabetes and multi-vessel coronary artery disease

2012-11-06

(Toronto – Nov. 4, 2012) – An international, clinical research trial has shown that patients with diabetes whose multi-vessel coronary artery disease is treated with bypass surgery live longer and are less likely to suffer severe complications like heart attacks than those who undergo angioplasty. The findings are published online today in The New England Journal of Medicine (10.1056/NEJMoa1211585). The study – co-led by researchers at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital and Toronto's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, University Health Network (UHN) – is known as the FREEDOM trial. "We've ...