Multivitamins could reduce the risk of cancer in men if taken once in a day according to the latest research published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA). Previous studies have shown that vitamins do not play any role in the prevention of cancer and may pose harmful effects but current study contradicts all previous studies.
Researchers evaluated the data of 14,641 men having age 50 years, from 1997 to 2011. They were either taking multivitamin or other placebo. They found that those men who received multivitamin were 8% less likely to suffer cancer in comparison to those who did not receive.
There are 2.4% more chances of deaths in women who take multivitamin as suggested in a study conducted in last year. Another previous study has also shown that taking vitamin E could raise the risk of prostate cancer.
“The data has been mixed at times around multivitamins,” said Chris Kocun, vice president of global medical affairs for New York-based Pfizer’s consumer health-care unit. “This study really shows you’re going to get a long-term health benefit.“
Researchers have not yet given any solid reason that why risk of cancer in men taking multivitamin is reduced but they suggested that it may be due to low dose of large number of vitamins and nutrients.
“This is the only trial that’s ever looked at a common multivitamin over a very long period of time,” said Michael Gaziano, a lead study author and cardiologist with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the VA Boston Healthcare System. “Our findings are somewhat consistent with the dietary findings that say a varied diet, particularly high in fruits and vegetables, show a fairly consistent association with reduced cancer risk.”
Centrum Silver is a multivitamin product of Pfizer that contains more than 30 nutrients, including vitamins A, B6, B12, D and calcium, said Pfizer’s Kocun.
Certain factors like smoking history, self reported histories of cancer, amount of exercise and diet in both of the study groups as said by Howard Sesso, a study author, associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
He further said that it would be too early to prescribe multivitamin to get their preventive role.
“Whether or not we should be taking a multivitamin to prevent cancer is one that remains an open question,” Sesso said.
“It doesn’t seem like there is any particular risk associated with taking a vitamin and there might be a small benefit,” said Dr. David Weinberg, chief of the department of medicine at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. He was not involved in the study.
The funding of this study was provided by the grants from the National Institutes of Health and BASF Corp.
Source: New Jersy
J. Michael Gaziano, MD, MPH; Howard D. Sesso, ScD, MPH; William G. Christen, ScD; Vadim Bubes, PhD; Joanne P. Smith, BA; Jean MacFadyen, BA; Miriam Schvartz, MD; JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH; Robert J. Glynn, ScD; Julie E. Buring, ScD, “Multivitamins in the Prevention of Cancer in MenThe Physicians’ Health Study II Randomized Controlled Trial”, JAMA. 2012;():1-10. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.14641.
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