High amount of Vitamin E could be associated with increased mortality

31/01/05 According to a recent article in the Annals of Internal Medicine, high doses of daily vitamin E appear to be associated with higher risks of mortality.

The use of vitamins and various dietary supplementations is an area of preventive medicine that patients often undertake on their own in order to prevent or reduce the risk of disease. Due to difficulty in isolating behavioral and environmental effects of individuals to gather data, definitive associations between supplementation and disease risk have been difficult to determine. Clinical studies that focus on cell lines in culture or laboratory animals often cannot prove a link between specific supplements and outcomes these may have on humans; however, individuals may read results of these studies and initiate self-medication in the hopes of preventing disease. Vitamin E has been a supplement that has undergone extensive research and studies are ongoing.

Researchers from the John Hopkins School of Medicine and several other institutions conducted a clinical study to evaluate data from 19 previous large studies that evaluated the effects of high-dose vitamin E supplementation. The data included nearly 136,000 individuals who had chronic illnesses. Of the trials evaluated, 9 had included data from vitamin E alone, while 10 had data that included vitamin E in combination with other vitamins or minerals. The trials compared individuals who took vitamin E to those who did not take vitamin E. The doses of vitamin E were considered high, ranging from 16.5 to 2000 International Units (IU) per day (average was approximately 400 IU per day). Overall, there was an increased risk of overall mortality in individuals who supplemented with high-dose vitamin E. The risk of mortality was increased by 39 people per 10,000 people in those who took high-dose vitamin E supplementation, compared to those who did not. The increased risk of mortality was among individuals who ingested doses of 150 IU or greater of vitamin E.

The researchers concluded that high doses of vitamin E may be associated with an increased risk of mortality. However, it is important to caution that the individuals studied had chronic illness and some individuals were taking vitamin E in combination with other vitamins and minerals. Patients should speak with their healthcare provider regarding their individual risks for supplementation with any vitamin or mineral, particularly in high doses.

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