USPSTF Steers Away from Various Supplements as Preventive Tools

By Jonathan Springston, Editor, Relias Media

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against taking vitamin E and beta-carotene to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer. Additionally, the board says there is insufficient evidence regarding the benefits and harms of taking various supplements to prevent heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

The USPSTF notes research indicated more than half of American adults take at least one dietary supplement and close to one-third take a multivitamin-mineral supplement. Those who take these supplements do so for overall health and to fill gaps in their diets. However, task force members have found it difficult to find enough evidence to support prescribing these various supplements to all patients.

“We all want ways to prevent heart disease, stroke, and cancer,” USPSTF member John Wong, MD, said. “Unfortunately, based on the existing evidence, the task force cannot recommend for or against the use of most vitamins and minerals and is calling for more research.”

The board outright recommends against using vitamin E and beta-carotene as preventive tools, with the latter possibly causing more harm than good. “We found that there is no benefit to taking vitamin E and that beta-carotene can be harmful because it increases the risk of lung cancer in people already at risk,” USPSTF Vice Chair Michael Barry, MD, said.

These recommendations do not apply to children, women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, chronically ill and hospitalized patients, or those with known nutritional deficiency. For otherwise healthy adults, clinicians should work with these patients on creating a more holistic prevention plan that includes a complete, balanced, and healthy diet, along with regular physical activity and staying away from smoking.

For more on this and related subjects, be sure to read the latest issues of Clinical Cardiology Alert and Integrative Medicine Alert.