A study that was conducted in March 2021 and published in the JAMA Network Open evidently reveals that multivitamins do not lead to a longer lifespan. The research showed that there is no significant difference in longevity between consumers of multivitamins and non-consumers among the healthy population. Thus, no association between the consumption of multivitamins and the reversal of mortality has been found.
These are generally mixtures of a given vitamin and mineral that are considered important in the daily needs of a person and other supplements. Despite the differences in their composition depending on the brand and formulation of the fertilizer, vitamins contained in the fertilizer include vitamins A, C, D, E, and K; B vitamins; and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, and others.
The authors of the paper stated, “In the United States, nearly 1 in 3 adults report recent multivitamin (MV) use. The prevalence of use is higher among older adults, women, non-Hispanic white individuals, and those with a college education. Motivations for using MV include maintaining or improving health and preventing chronic disease; consequently, understanding the relationship between MV use and mortality is critically important to public health guidance.”
Consideration of Confounding Factors in Multivitamins Research
Investigations done prior to the current research have produced a wide range of findings that associated multivitamin use with mortality due to cause in human beings; the studies have been greatly limited by the short duration follow-ups of the participants. Data on more than 400,000 volunteers of a large health maintenance organisation in the USA were reviewed by the researchers, and the study was conducted over a period of 20 years, excluding anyone who had been diagnosed with cancer or chronically ill at baseline.
The research findings did not establish any relation between the intake of multivitamin supplements and a lowered probability of death due to any cause, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, or stroke.
“In this cohort study of 390,124 generally healthy US adults with more than 20 years of follow-up, daily MV use was not associated with a mortality benefit,” said the research authors. They further added, “In contrast, we found that daily MV use vs. non-use was associated with a 4% higher mortality risk.”
The authors suggest that this could be because individuals who take multivitamins are often those experiencing age-related health issues. They wrote, “It could be argued that those who are sick or older than 65 years are more likely to initiate MV use. This phenomenon could result in a non-causal positive association since these individuals have a higher risk of mortality than their healthier or younger counterparts.”
The researchers revised their study to consider various confounding factors, including race and ethnicity, education, food quality, and the likelihood that healthier individuals are more inclined to take multivitamins.
The researchers explained, “First, it is an observational study, and residual confounding by poorly measured or unmeasured confounders (e.g., health care utilization) may bias risk estimates. Second, there is the possibility for non-differential exposure misclassification owing to a faulty memory of sporadic MV usage.”
You might also be interested in – Having early dinner before 7pm increases your lifespan by upto 35% and reduces risk of obesity, diabetes
