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" in which she proposed Americans are taking too many vitamins, which may not benefit health 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 to disease, such as osteoporosis, and multivitamins have not been shown to prevent disease.

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

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

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

And it was not too long ago that fellow Times columnist Jane Brody wrote in her Aug. 21 personal health column that supplements may benefit the cognitive health of adults age 65 and older. Throughout her article, Brody cited a 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 and vitamins or a placebo daily for 12 months. Researchers, led by Ranjit Chandra, M.D., from Memorial University of Newfoundland, reported the supplemented group showed significant improvement in all cognitive tests, excluding long-term memory recall. The supplement used in the study contained, among other nutrients, 400 retinol equivalents of vitamin A and 16 mg of beta-carotene.

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

In a meta-analysis of vitamin E and heart studies, researchers from the University of Florida, Gainesville, reported the weight of evidence suggests that 100 IU/d to 400 IU/d of vitamin E for two years or more may reduce low-density lipoprotein oxidation and positively influence mortality rates caused 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 benefit in hypertension and stroke (Hypertens Res, 24, 6:735-42, 2001).

Kolata also brought in medical and "industry" opinion, including statements from the American Council on Science and Health, which covers public health issues concerning the environment, nutrition and pharmaceuticals. Ruth Kava, the organization's nutrition director, was quoted as saying, "People ask 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 the nutrients."

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