Supplemental Vitamins and Minerals for CVD Prevention and Treatment.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
PubMed 29852980 · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2018.04.020
What was done
The authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials examining the effects of supplemental vitamins and minerals on cardiovascular disease outcomes and all-cause mortality. Trials were identified from prior meta-analyses, including the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force review, and supplemental searches for publications from 2012 onwards.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical effect sizes or confidence intervals. It identified moderate- or low-quality evidence of preventive benefits for folic acid on total cardiovascular disease and folic acid plus B-vitamins on stroke. No effect was found for multivitamins, vitamins C, D, beta-carotene, calcium, and selenium. Antioxidant mixtures and niacin (with a statin) were associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality.
Why it matters
This review demonstrates that common dietary supplements generally do not improve cardiovascular outcomes or survival, and certain combinations may increase mortality risk.
Limits
The abstract provides no exact numbers, study counts, or participant sample sizes. The underlying evidence base was evaluated as generally moderate- or low-quality, and the analysis could not establish conclusive benefits across diverse dietary backgrounds (such as baseline nutritional deficiency versus sufficiency).
Cited by
- context Scientific research shows that standard synthetic multivitamin supplements provide literally no benefit.