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Daily multivitamin failed to reduce major CVD risk in middle-aged men
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LOS ANGELES — Despite common usage of multivitamins in the United States, recent data from the Physicians’ Health Study II suggest that they may not reduce the risk for major CV events in middle-aged men.
“Multivitamins are taken by at least one-third of US adults, and there’s been a lot of research [showing] that some of the components of multivitamins may reduce the risk for CVD. However, the observational studies that have looked at that question have been quite inconsistent regarding an inverse association between multivitamins and a lower risk for CVD,” lead researcher Howard D. Sesso, ScD, MPH, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said during a press conference at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
The Physicians’ Health Study (PHS) II evaluated the balance of risks and benefits of a common daily multivitamin (Centrum Silver, Pfizer) vs. placebo in 14,641 US male physicians aged 50 years or older (mean age, 64.3 years). Of these participants, 754 had a history of CVD.
During 11.2 years of follow-up, the researchers confirmed 1,732 major CV events, defined as a composite of nonfatal MI, nonfatal stroke and CVD mortality. Compared with placebo, they found no significant effect of a daily multivitamin on major CV events (HR=1.01; 95% CI, 0.91-1.1).
Further data indicate that a daily multivitamin had no effect on total MI (HR=0.93; 95% CI, 0.8-1.09), total stroke (HR=1.06; 95% CI, 0.91-1.23) or CVD mortality (HR=0.95; 95% CI, 0.83-1.09). Additionally, a daily multivitamin was not significantly associated with total mortality (HR=0.94; 95% CI, 0.88-1.02). The multivitamin’s effects on major CV events did not differ between men with or without a baseline history of CVD (P=.62 for interaction).
“It is worth noting that despite the lack of effect we observed for our primary endpoint of CVD, we did previously provide results looking at our other primary endpoint of total cancer. These same men taking a multivitamin over the course of the trial had a modest but significant 8% reduction in total cancer,” Sesso said.
Ultimately, the intake of daily multivitamins did not reduce the risk for major CV events, MI, stroke and CVD, but Sesso said multivitamins should be taken to prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and considered for their potential role in the prevention of cancer.
Additional analyses are planned on other relevant CVD outcomes with intentions to conduct continued follow-up of the PHS II cohort, Sesso said. – by Samantha Costa
For more information:
Sesso HD. Late-breaking clinical trials: Treatments for prevention of cardiovascular events: A population perspective. Presented at: the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions; Nov. 3-7, 2012; Los Angeles.
Sesso HD. JAMA. 2012;doi:10.1001/jama.2012.14805.
Disclosure: Sesso reports receiving investigator-initiated research funding from Cambridge Theranostics Ltd., the NIH and the Tomato Products Wellness Council. Pills and/or packaging were provided by BASF, DSM Nutrition Products and Pfizer.