Government scientists turned to a study tracking the diet and health of almost 300,000 men. About a third reported taking a daily multivitamin, and 5 percent were heavy users, swallowing the pills more than seven times a week.
Heavy multivitamin users were almost twice as likely to get fatal prostate cancer as men who never took the pills, concludes the study in Wednesday's Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Here's the twist: Overall, the researchers found no link between multivitamin use and early-stage prostate cancer.
More rigorous research is needed, caution the National Cancer Institute scientists. Still, "the findings lend further credence to the possibility of harm associated with increased use of supplements," Dr. Christian Gluud of Copenhagen University Hospital and Dr. Goran Bjelakovic of Serbia's University of Nis wrote in an accompanying editorial.
Bonnie - while the published study is not yet available, we are very familiar with Dr. Bjelakovic. He is an ardent detractor of dietary supplements. He has used sham meta-analyses in the past to mislead the press and public. His last published study claimed antioxidants increased mortality, which was summarily panned by colleagues and consumers alike.
We will comment on the details as soon as we read the study.
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