 | | | | Related Healthscout Videos | |
|
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A multivitamin a day may not keep prostate cancer at bay. According to researchers from the National Cancer Institute, it might even increase a man's risk of developing more deadly forms of the disease.
The finding is based on a study of about 295,000 men who were taking part in a National Institutes of Health-AARP study on diet and health. Over a five year follow up, about 10,000 men developed prostate cancer, with nearly 1,500 diagnosed with advanced disease.
Text Continues Below
When researchers compared multivitamin use among the men, results showed an increased risk of advanced or fatal forms of the cancer in men who took the supplements more than seven times a week. The finding was particularly strong in men who also took other vitamin supplements along with a multivitamin, such as selenium, beta-carotene, and zinc.
No link was seen between multivitamins and less serious, localized prostate cancers.
Fellow investigators writing in an accompanying editorial believe these findings point to the need for caution in the use of multivitamins and other vitamin supplements -- especially antioxidants like beta-carotene, which have been linked to negative health effects in other studies.
The results, they conclude, "add to the growing evidence that questions the beneficial value of antioxidant vitamin pills in generally well-nourished populations and underscore the possibility that antioxidant supplements could have unintended consequences for our health."
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2007;99:754-764,742-743
|
.gif)
