Pill popping â€" multivitamins, that is â€" may be of some benefit in protecting against cancer, and has little danger except, perhaps, a false sense of security. Illustration: Rod Clement
Jill Margo
Although there has never been any good evidence to suggest a daily multivitamin and mineral pill is beneficial, millions of middle-aged men around the world take one on faith every day.
Now, high quality research suggests their faith is not misplaced. It found a daily pill reduces the odds of cancer for men over 50 and does no harm.
This is the first time such a combination pill has been shown to provide protection against cancer.
Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study followed some 15,000 male doctors for more than a decade and found those taking the pill had 8 per cent fewer cancers than those taking dummy pills.
daily pill
The doctors were part of the Physicians’ Health Study II, which began at Harvard in 1997. They were divided into two groups. One took the pill Centrum Silver, which had 31 vitamins and minerals. The other received a dummy pill.
Until the trial ended, neither they nor the investigators knew who was in the dummy group.
Eleven years later, the death rate between the two groups was similar, as was the rate of prostate cancer, by far the most common cancer diagnosed during the study.
But when prostate cancer was removed from the equation, the daily pill lowered other cancer rates among the men by 12 per cent.
results no slam dunk
The response from commentators has been measured. These results “don’t provide a slam dunk,†said the Harvard Health Blog.
It notes almost all participants were white men with excellent access to healthcare. They were also fairly healthy, very few smoked and many followed good diets.
Another Harvard expert said while a daily combined pill could “provide some nutritional insuranceâ€, it wasn’t a substitute for real food, whose flavonoids, carotenoids and other substances probably work to prevent cancer. Multivitamins don’t have these.
Some speculate the modest reduction in rates in cancer could result from correcting micronutrient deficiencies or from the fact that low doses of several vitamins and minerals work together synergistically to prevent cancer.
modest good news
The authors conclude their results do offer limited support for recommending men take such a combined pill for cancer prevention.
They also looked at the effects of this pill on cardiovascular events, eye disease, and cognitive decline.
These results are to be published soon but study leader, J. Michael Gaziano, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, declined to disclose whether more modest good news is to be expected.
He told The Australian Financial Review that although the study demonstrates these pills modestly reduce the risk of cancer in middle-age and older men, the main reason for taking them is to prevent vitamin and mineral deficiency.
Since the study began in 1997, the composition of the commercial version of Centrum Silver has altered, reflecting evolving views and priorities in nutrition.
long-term use
Several recent vitamin studies have been disappointing, finding a lack of benefit for many individual vitamins and some harm when they are taken in large doses.
This study’s authors found no harm from long-term daily use, no significant gastrointestinal tract symptoms â€" peptic ulcer, constipation, diarrhoea, gastritis or nausea â€" and no fatigue, drowsiness, skin discolouration or migraine. Some men, however, were more likely to get rashes.
Whether this study has an impact on official dietary guidelines is yet to be seen. Two years ago, the United States guidelines said there was no evidence to support taking a multivitamin or mineral supplement to prevent chronic disease.
Australia’s official dietary guidelines are under review and are expected to be released next year.
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The Australian Financial Review
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