Results from the Physicians' Health Study I, including data on 18,530 men, found self-reported data showed that men who consistently took a daily multivitamin for 20 years or longer had a 44% reduced risk of a major cardiovascular event, such as heart attack or stroke. The kinds and amounts of nutrients in multivitamins vary widely, but typically include vitamins A, C, D, E and K; biotin; B vitamins; folic acid; and minerals.
Abstract Summary
BACKGROUND
Although multivitamins are widely used by US adults, few prospective studies have investigated their association with the long- and short-term risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate how multivitamin use is associated with the risk of CVD in initially healthy men at baseline.
METHODS
We studied 18,530 male physicians aged ≥40 y from the Physicians' Health Study I cohort who were free of CVD and cancer at baseline (1982). All men provided a wide range of self-reported lifestyle and clinical factors plus intake of selected foods and dietary supplements. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CIs).
RESULTS
During a mean follow-up of 12.2 y (total of 225,287 person-years), there were 1697 incident cases of major CVD (defined as nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, and CVD death). In multivariable-adjusted analyses, no significant associations were observed among baseline multivitamin users compared with nonusers for the risk of major CVD events (HR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.84, 1.05), whereas a self-reported duration of ≥20 y at baseline was associated with lower risk (HR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.35, 0.90; P-trend = 0.05). Baseline multivitamin use was also significantly inversely associated with the risk of cardiac revascularization (HR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.75, 0.98). Baseline use of multivitamins was not significantly associated with other CVD endpoints.
CONCLUSION
In this long-term prospective study in initially healthy men, multivitamin use for ≥20 years was associated with a lower risk of major CVD events.
References
Rautiainen S, Rist PM, Glynn RJ, et al. Multivitamin Use and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Men. J Nutr. 2016 Apr 27. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27121531> Date Accessed, 6/8/2016.