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New Delhi , OCT 10 :

Dr. Mursu of the Department of Health Sciences, Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, has found in a study he carried out in collaboration with colleagues that long term use of multivitamins among older women do not reduce the risk of mortality. The study, reported upon in the October 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, is based on self-reported data from the Iowa Women’s Health Study, which covered 38,772 women who were aged between 55 and 59 years when the study commenced in 1986. By December 31, 2008, 40% of the women, that is, 15,594 of them, had died. Based on the data from the entire sample of women, multivitamin use was implicated in a 2.4% increase in mortality risk. The study found also that Vitamin B6, folic acid, iron and magnesium increased the risk of death by 3% to 6%, while copper increased it by as much as 18%. Calcium, on the other hand, was found to decrease the risk of mortality. Looking at the picture as a whole, the authors argue that though the effect of multivitamin use on improving the quality of life could not be ruled out, long term use raises concerns.

 

Source: Medscap