Table of contents
- Vitamins and CVD, cancer prevention: USPSTF says evidence isn’t there
- JAMA article in June 2022
- VitaminDWiki -
41 Meta-analyses of Cardiovascular - VitaminDWiki Meta-analyses with CANCER in title (74 as of Sept 2022)
- Continuing Medical Education class: Nutrition in Cancer Prevention, Treatment and Survivorship - Aug 2022
Vitamins and CVD, cancer prevention: USPSTF says evidence isn’t there
J Fam Pract. 2022 July;71(6) | doi: 10.12788/jfp.0459
Doug Campos-Outcalt, MD, MPATaking vitamins and minerals in the hope of preventing cancer or cardiovascular disease may be ineffective—and with a particular supplement, it could actually be harmful.
The leading causes of death in the United States are cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer. CVD causes about 800,00 deaths per year (30% of all deaths), and cancer is responsible for about 600,000 deaths annually (21%).1 Many adults—more than 50%—report regular use of dietary supplements, including multivitamins and minerals, to improve their overall health, believing that these supplements’ anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties help prevent CVD and cancer.2 However, this belief is not supported by evidence, according to the US Preventive Services Task Force.
What did the Task Force find? After a recent reassessment of the topic of vitamin and mineral supplementation, the Task Force reaffirmed its position from 2014: There is insufficient evidence to recommend the use of vitamins and minerals to prevent CVD and cancer.3
For most of the vitamins and minerals included in the systematic review—vitamins A, C, D, E, and K; B vitamins; calcium; iron; zinc; and selenium—the Task Force could not find sufficient evidence to make a recommendation. It is important to note that if any of these are taken at the recommended levels, there is no evidence of serious harm from using them.
However, there is good evidence to recommend against the use of beta carotene and vitamin E.3 For beta carotene, the harms outweigh the benefits: Its use is associated with an increase in the risk of CVD death, as well as an increased incidence of lung cancer in smokers and those with occupational exposure to asbestos. The evidence on vitamin E indicates that it simply does not provide any cancer or CVD mortality benefit.
How to advise patients. Both the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the American Heart Association state that most nutritional needs can be met through the consumption of nutritional foods and beverages; supplements do not add any benefit for those who consume a healthy diet.4 The updated USPSTF recommendations support this approach for community-dwelling, nonpregnant adults.
For those adults who want to supplement their diets—or who need to do so because of an inability to achieve an adequate diet—urge them to follow the recommendations found in DHHS’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.4
References- 1. Murphy SL, Xu J, Kochanek KD, et al. Deaths: final data for 2018. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2021;69:1-83.
- 2. Cowan AE, Jun S, Gahche JJ, et al. Dietary supplement use differs by socioeconomic and health-related characteristics among US adults, NHANES 2011-2014. Nutrients. 2018;10:1114. doi: 10.3390/nu10081114
- 3. USPSTF. Vitamin, mineral, and multivitamin supplementation to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2022;327:2326-2333. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.8970
- 4. US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. Published December 2020. Accessed July 13, 2022. www.dietaryguidelines.gov/current-dietary-guidelines
JAMA article in June 2022
 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki
VitaminDWiki -
41 Meta-analyses of Cardiovascular This list is automatically updated
- T2 Diabetes and associated CVD problems fought by Vitamin D (weekly 50,000 IU) – Sept 2024
- Vitamin D reduces many Cardiovascular risk factors (provided doses are personalized) – meta-analysis July 2024
- Little Vitamin D does not reduce risk of CVD – RCT meta-analysis Dec 2023
- COVID Vaccinations increased risk of cardiac deaths in youths by 19% - Aug 2023
- Afib 40% less likely after heart by-pass if have enough Vitamin D – meta-analysis May 2023
- Risk of heart failure increased 1.4X if low vitamin D – meta-analysis Dec 2022
- USPSTF says no evidence that Vitamins prevent CVD or Cancer (data disagrees) Aug 2022
- CAD patients with low vitamin D were 1.6 X more likely to die – 27th meta-analysis Aug 2022
- Recurrrent Cardiovascular deaths cut in half if 10 ng more Vitamin D – meta-analysis Sept 2021
- Statin pain reduces Vitamin D levels by 4 ng ( 9 studies) - Meta-analysis July 2021
- Arterial stiffness reduced if use at least 2,000 IU of Vitamin D for 4 months – meta-analysis Dec 2019
- Blood vessels not helped by small vitamin D doses – meta-analysis Dec 2019
- Cardiovascular death 1.5X more likely if less than 20 ng of Vitamin D – 22nd meta-analysis Nov 2019
- Vitamin D supplementation reduces many Cardiovascular Disease markers– meta-analysis July 2018
- Low-dose vitamin D does not help cardiovascular (many were 100-1,000 IU) – meta-analysis June 2019
- Heart Failure and Vitamin D meta-analyses - many studies
- Vitamin K (across all dose sizes and types) decrease Vascular Stiffness – meta-analysis - Dec 2018
- Small or infrequent doses of vitamin D do not reduce heart failure much – meta-analysis Jan 2018
- Peripheral arterial disease risk is 1.5X higher if low vitamin D – meta-analysis March 2018
- Omega-3 reduced time in hospital and atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery – meta-analysis May 2016
- Cardiovascular deaths 12 percent less likely if have 10 ng more vitamin D – meta-analysis March 2017
- Health problems prevented by eating nuts (perhaps due to Magnesium and or Omega-3) – meta-analysis Dec 2016
- Atrial Fibrillation 1.3 times more likely if low vitamin D – meta-analysis Sept 2016
- Coronary Artery Disease without diabetes 5 times more likely if VDR gene problems – meta-analysis May 2016
- Chronic Heart Failure not treated by Vitamin D, if dose size is ignored – meta-analysis Oct 2015
- Atrial fibrillation sometimes treated by Omega-3 – meta-analysis Sept 2015
- Peripheral Arterial Disease patients have low vitamin D levels – meta-analysis Oct 2015
- C-reactive protein (heart disease marker) reduced by vitamin D – meta-analysis 2014, 2019
- Cardiovascular disease associated with postmenopausal non-human primates – meta-analysis Jan 2015
- Adding Calcium does NOT cause cardiovascular problems (reverses their meta-analysis) – Dec 2014
- Statin pain associated with 10 ng less vitamin D – meta-analysis Oct 2014
- Risk of Cardiac failure reduced 20 percent by 800 IU of vitamin D and Calcium – meta-analysis July 2014
- Magnesium prevents cardiovascular events – Meta-analysis March 2013
- Cardiovascular disease 50 % more likely if low vitamin D - meta-analysis Nov 2012
- Omega-3 does not help heart patients – meta-analysis Sept 2012
- Half as many heart deaths for those with high levels of vitamin D – meta-analysis Sept 2012
- Shift workers 23 percent more likely to have cardiovascular events – meta-analysis July 2012
- Low density lipoprotein cholesterol is predictable from vitamin D levels – meta-analysis March 2012
- 800 IU Vitamin D does not help heart – meta-analysis Aug 2011
- Calcium without vitamin D increased heart risk by 30 percent - Jan 2011
- Meta-analysis unsure if vitamin D can prevent cardiovascular disease – Sept 2010
VitaminDWiki Meta-analyses with CANCER in title (74 as of Sept 2022)
This list is automatically updated
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Continuing Medical Education class: Nutrition in Cancer Prevention, Treatment and Survivorship - Aug 2022
Tailor macronutrients, micronutrients, and phytonutrients for optimal immune response $100
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