Excessive multivitamin consumption may be linked to prostate cancer

Though taking multivitamins has been linked to potential health benefits, a new study has found that an excessive consumption of multivitamins may not be beneficial. According to a report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, men who take multivitamins more than once a day may double their risk of developing prostate cancer, compared to men who do not use multivitamins. Internist and epidemiologist Michael F. Leitzman, MD, along with his colleagues at the National Cancer Institute, studied about 30,000 men who had enrolled in the National Institutes of Health- AARP Diet and Health Study in 1995 and 1996.

The men were surveyed about their multivitamin use. During the next 5 years, more than 10,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, and during the sixth year, 179 men had died from the disease. Leitzman believes that excessive consumption of supplements may speed the growth of an existing tumor. Because the study was not a randomized trial, assigning random groups of men to various amounts of multivitamins, the team of researchers was not able to FDA Updates provide conclusive evidence that excessive use of multivitamins contributes to in the development of prostate cancer.