Multivitamins have no relationship to lower risk of death: Study

The NIH study was conducted for more than 20 years
390,124 adults across the United States were participants
1 in 3 Americans take multivitamins

Patrick Djordjevic

Updated: Jun 28, 2024 / 01:37 PM CDT

ILLUSTRATION – 24 May 2023, Berlin: A person takes a capsule containing a dietary supplement with potassium and magnesium. Photo: Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/dpa (Photo by Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez/picture alliance via Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — A National Institutes of Health (NIH) study across two decades found there is no association between regular intake of multivitamins and a lower risk of death.

Daily multivitamin usage is common in the United States, but according to the NIH, there is a lack of clarity as to whether there are benefits or indeed harms from ingesting them.

Adults from varied geographic locations within the U.S. were involved, with 390,124 people participating in the study.

Those involved were without a history of chronic disease or cancer.

According to the study, those who took multivitamins have no lesser risk of dying than those who did not. Similarly, death from cardiovascular or heart diseases or cancer was not less likely with multivitamin intake.

According to the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA, one in three American adults uses multivitamins. The prevalence is greater among females, white individuals and college-educated individuals.