Vitamin and Mineral Supplements for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer

Abstract

IMPORTANCE Cardiovascular disease and cancer are the 2 leading causes of death in the US, and vitamin and mineral supplementation has been proposed to help prevent these conditions. OBJECTIVE To review the benefits and harms of vitamin and mineral supplementation in healthy adults to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer to inform the US Preventive Services Task Force. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE, PubMed (publisher-supplied records only), Cochrane Library, and Embase (January 2013 to February 1, 2022); prior reviews. STUDY SELECTION English-language randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of vitamin or mineral use among adults without cardiovascular disease or cancer and with no known vitamin or mineral deficiencies; observational cohort studies examining serious harms. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Single extraction, verified by a second reviewer. Quantitative pooling methods appropriate for rare events were used for most analyses. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Mortality, cardiovascular disease events, cancer incidence, serious harms. RESULTS Eighty-four studies (N=739 803) were included. In pooled analyses, multivitamin use was significantly associated with a lower incidence of any cancer (odds ratio [OR], 0.93 [95% CI, 0.87-0.99]; 4 RCTs [n=48 859]; absolute risk difference [ARD] range among adequately powered trials, −0.2% to −1.2%) and lung cancer (OR, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.58-0.95]; 2 RCTs [n=36 052]; ARD, 0.2%). However, the evidence for multivitamins had important limitations. Beta carotene (with or without vitamin A) was significantly associated with an increased risk of lung cancer (OR, 1.20 [95% CI, 1.01-1.42]; 4 RCTs [n=94 830]; ARD range, −0.1% to 0.6%) and cardiovascular mortality (OR, 1.10 [95% CI, 1.02-1.19]; 5 RCTs [n=94 506] ARD range, −0.8% to 0.8%). Vitamin D use was not significantly associated with all-cause mortality (OR, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.91-1.02]; 27 RCTs [n=117 082]), cardiovascular disease (eg, composite cardiovascular disease event outcome: OR, 1.00 [95% CI, 0.95-1.05]; 7 RCTs [n=74 925]), or cancer outcomes (eg, any cancer incidence: OR, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.92-1.03]; 19 RCTs [n=86 899]). Vitamin E was not significantly associated with all-cause mortality (OR, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.97-1.07]; 9 RCTs [n=107 772]), cardiovascular disease events (OR, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.90-1.04]; 4 RCTs [n=62 136]), or cancer incidence (OR, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.98-1.08]; 5 RCTs [n=76 777]). Evidence for benefit of other supplements was equivocal, minimal, or absent. Limited evidence suggested some supplements may be associated with higher risk of serious harms (hip fracture [vitamin A], hemorrhagic stroke [vitamin E], and kidney stones [vitamin C, calcium]).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Vitamin and mineral supplementation was associated with little or no benefit in preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and death, with the exception of a small benefit for cancer incidence with multivitamin use. Beta carotene was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer and other harmful outcomes in persons at high risk of lung cancer.

Vitamin, Mineral, and Multivitamin Supplementation to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer

“…To update its 2014 recommendation statement, the USPSTF commissioned a systematic review of the evidence on the efficacy of supplementation with single nutrients, functionally related nutrient pairs, or multivitamins for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality in the general adult population, as well as the harms of supplementation. The review focused on community-dwelling, nonpregnant adults 18 years or older without known cardiovascular disease or chronic disease (other than hypertension, overweight, or obesity) or nutritional deficiencies.…”

“…The USPSTF found 6 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) reporting on health outcomes associated with beta carotene supplementation . One of these trials studied beta carotene plus vitamin A supplementation .…”

“…Nine RCTs reported on health outcomes associated with vitamin E supplementation . Pooled analyses demonstrated no benefit associated with vitamin E use on all-cause mortality (OR, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.97-1.07]; 9 RCTs; n = 107 772) after 3 to 10 years of follow-up or on the composite outcome of any cardiovascular disease event (OR, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.90-1.04]; 4 RCTs; n = 62 136) or cardiovascular disease mortality (OR, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.74-1.04]; 6 RCTs; n = 77 114).…”

Modulation of Fibroblast Activity via Vitamin D3 Is Dependent on Tumor Type—Studies on Mouse Mammary Gland Cancer

“…They also indicate that vitamin D supplementation significantly reduced total cancer mortality but did not affect total cancer incidence [ 12 ]. On the other hand, e.g., O’Connor et al indicated the lack of the relationship between vitamin D and breast cancer [ 13 ]. Moreover, Kanstrup et al [ 14 ] found an inverse correlation between 25(OH)D plasma concentrations and breast cancer survival, however, this study also indicated poorer breast cancer survival among patients with high 25(OH)D concentrations [ 14 ].…”

USPSTF Recommendations on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer

“…To the Editor A recent recommendation of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concluded that there is no convincing evidence that vitamin supplements are beneficial for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease or cancer. However, we would like to highlight an important exception: B vitamins used to lower homocysteine levels do prevent stroke.…”