Well-Being Prevention & Cures

Multivitamins have no relationship to lower risk of death: Study

According to a two-decade NIH study, it is not clear whether there are benefits or harms from ingesting them.
FILE - Multivitamin tablets are photographed in Philadelphia on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011. A study published Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows a daily multivitamin may boost memory function in some people, although the results don't change recommendations about use of the supplements. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Multivitamin tablets are photographed in Philadelphia on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Story at a glance


  • There is no association between regular intake of multivitamins and a lower risk of death, according to a two-decade National Institutes of Health study that involved nearly 400,000 adults from the U.S.

  • Death from cardiovascular or heart diseases or cancer was not less likely with multivitamin intake.

  • The study found there is a lack of clarity as to whether there are benefits or indeed harms from ingesting such vitamins

(NewsNation) — A National Institutes of Health (NIH) study across two decades found there is no association between regular intake of multivitamins and a lower risk of death.

Daily multivitamin usage is common in the United States, but according to the NIH, there is a lack of clarity as to whether there are benefits or indeed harms from ingesting them.

Adults from varied geographic locations within the U.S. were involved, with 390,124 people participating in the study.

Those involved were without a history of chronic disease or cancer.

According to the study, those who took multivitamins have no lesser risk of dying than those who did not. Similarly, death from cardiovascular or heart diseases or cancer was not less likely with multivitamin intake.

According to the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA, one in three American adults uses multivitamins. The prevalence is greater among females, white individuals and college-educated individuals.


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