Those who are popping multivitamins to evade risk of heart disease need to think twice, as a study has found that taking multivitamins daily does not reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in men.
"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," Howard D. Sesso, associate epidemiologist in Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) has been quoted as saying.
"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," Sesso, the Journal of the American Medical Association reports.
The study was done on nearly 15,000 men over 50 years and followed them for more than 10 years.
The men were randomly assigned to take either a multivitamin or a placebo (sugar pills) daily which ensured that both treatment groups were identical with respect to risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
They self-reported episodes of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular disease, and a panel of physicians reviewed and confirmed their events with medical records.
The data collected from the group that took the multivitamin was compared with the group that took the placebo and the researchers found that no significant impact on risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular mortality.
J. Michael Gaziano, chief of the Division of Aging at BWH and senior study author, states: "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."
The findings of the research were presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012.
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