A report from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) indicates there is insufficient proof to recommend for or against the use of most mineral and vitamin supplements in the prevention of stroke, heart disease, and cancer.

The report also recommends against using vitamin E and beta carotene for the prevention of these conditions because vitamin E has shown no benefits, and beta carotene may increase the possibility of lung cancer in some people who already are at risk.

“This is essentially the same recommendation that the task force made in 2014,” USPSTF member John Wong, MD, professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, told Medscape.

“We recognize that over half of people in the US take a vitamin supplement of some sort every day and 30% take a vitamin/mineral combination. We wanted to review the evidence again to see if there was any benefit in terms of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer or increasing the chances of living longer,” Wong explained.

“We looked hard for evidence, reviewing 84 studies in total. But we did not find sufficient evidence in favor of taking or not taking vitamins, with the two exceptions of beta-carotene and vitamin E, which we recommend against taking,” he noted.

The statement is published in JAMA, along with an evidence report, editorial, and patient page.

Read more at Medscape here.

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