New York Times

New York Times Questions Multivitamin Benefits

NEW YORK--In the April 29 edition of The New York Times,science reporter Gina Kolata wrote "Vitamins: More May Be Too Many" inwhich she proposed Americans are taking too many vitamins, which may not benefithealth and instead may ultimately increase the risk of disease. Her argument?Fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamin A can accumulate in the body and lead todisease, such as osteoporosis, and multivitamins have not been shown to preventdisease.

Kolata's theories appear to be based off a high-profile study that hit thenews waves earlier this year and which appeared in the Jan. 23 New EnglandJournal of Medicine (348, 4:347-9, 2003) (www.nejm.org).In the study, conducted by researchers from Sweden's University Hospital, 2,322men ages 49 to 51 with high retinol serum levels were seen to have a higherincidence of fracture. The researchers concluded, "Our findings . suggestthat current levels of vitamin A supplementation and food fortification in manyWestern countries may need to be reassessed."

This came one year after a study showing similar results and that ran in theJan. 2, 2002, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)(287, 1:102-4) (www.jama.com). Harvardresearchers reported that the highest incidence of hip fractures were found inwomen with the highest quintile of vitamin A intake.

However, results from high-profile researchers did not correlate withKolata's theory regarding vitamins not lowering disease risk. "Vitaminexcess is possible with supplementation, particularly for fat-solublevitamins," wrote Harvard researchers in the Oct. 9 JAMA (288,14:1720, 2002)."Inadequate intake of several vitamins has been linked tochronic diseases, including coronary heart disease, cancer andosteoporosis."

And it was not too long ago that fellow Times columnist Jane Brodywrote in her Aug. 21 personal health column that supplements may benefit thecognitive health of adults age 65 and older. Throughout her article, Brody citeda study appearing in the journal Nutrition (17, 9:709-12, 2001) (www.elsevier.nl)in which 86 men and women took either a supplement of trace elements andvitamins or a placebo daily for 12 months. Researchers, led by Ranjit Chandra,M.D., from Memorial University of Newfoundland, reported the supplemented groupshowed significant improvement in all cognitive tests, excluding long-termmemory recall. The supplement used in the study contained, among othernutrients, 400 retinol equivalents of vitamin A and 16 mg of beta-carotene.

In one misleading piece of information, Kolata reported, "Vitamin Esupplements can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes."Researchers from the United States and Japan would be quick to disagree. Whilethe vitamin has been said to act as a blood-thinning agent, this has been shownto be beneficial for those at risk of heart attack and stroke.

In a meta-analysis of vitamin E and heart studies, researchers from theUniversity of Florida, Gainesville, reported the weight of evidence suggeststhat 100 IU/d to 400 IU/d of vitamin E for two years or more may reducelow-density lipoprotein oxidation and positively influence mortality ratescaused by cardiovascular disease (Clin Excell Nurse Pract, 2, 1:10-22,1998). And in a mice model in which 1,000 mg/d of vitamin E was administered,researchers from Japan's Kyoto University reported the vitamin may be of benefitin hypertension and stroke (Hypertens Res, 24, 6:735-42, 2001).

Kolata also brought in medical and "industry" opinion, includingstatements from the American Council on Science and Health, which covers publichealth issues concerning the environment, nutrition and pharmaceuticals. RuthKava, the organization's nutrition director, was quoted as saying, "Peopleask me what vitamins I take. I say I don't take any. They look at me askance.They can't believe I'm a nutritionist."

Annette Dickinson, Ph.D., from the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN)was also interviewed by Kolata. "Our position is that most people,literally most people, would benefit from taking a multivitamin every day,"she said. "It's insuring adequate and even generous intake of all thenutrients."