Posted on 10/10/2011 3:03:13 PM PDT by decimon
CHICAGO – Consuming dietary supplements, including multivitamins, folic acid, iron and copper, among others, appears to be associated with an increased risk of death in older women, according to a report in the October 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals...
The use of dietary supplements in the United States has increased considerably over the last decade, according to background information in the article. "At the population level, dietary supplements contributed substantially to the total intake of several nutrients, particularly in elderly individuals," the authors write.
Jaakko Mursu, Ph.D., of the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland, and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and colleagues used data collected during the Iowa Women's Health Study to examine the association between vitamin and mineral supplements and mortality (death) rate among 38,772 older women (average age 61.6 years)...
Among the 38,772 women who started follow-up with the first survey in 1986, 15,594 deaths (40.2 percent) occurred over an average follow-up time of 19 years. Self-reported supplement use increased substantially between 1986 and 2004, with 62.7 percent of women reporting use of at least one supplement daily in 1986, 75.1 percent in 1997 and 85.1 percent in 2004.
The authors found that use of most supplements was not associated with reduced total mortality in older women, and many supplements appeared associated with increased mortality risk. After adjustment, use of multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper, were all associated with increased risk of death in the study population. Conversely, calcium supplements appear to reduce risk of mortality. The association between supplement intake and mortality risk was strongest with iron, and the authors found a dose-response relationship as increased risk of mortality was seen at progressively lower doses as women aged throughout the study.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
What truly is considered older anyway? Most older woman I know do not eat enough to sustain the vitamin and minerals needed for their best health. So my guess is that it is worth the risk for many. A lot of elderly woman I know actually are anorexic as a lot of them work so hard to stay thin and as we all know when one is old the metabolic rate crawls even with a decent workout regime.
My mother recently started the Teresa Heinz Kerry routine of six gin-soaked white raisins. She is 80 years old, and I'm not going to argue with her. LOL!
yeah. that’s not cool. I have to agree with you. mega anything isn’t good for most people and a 89 year old lady doesn’t need to suffer through those kinda pills unless she wants them. Hell she’s done her time. Senile or not. Those horse pills can be sickening. Poor lady. She’d probably do much better just getting a bit of fresh air and light exercise everyday and lots of hugs and laughter—haha. Best wishes to you MIL.
This says that some, not all, supplements may be harmful.
yeah. I don’t read. Just comment. haha. FReepers. What a wild crew we are. Thanks for letting me know what the article says. :-). Then I walk away more informed too. lol. Good day my FRiend.
She still walks every day and she can still hit a rattler in the head with one shot. My SIL just thinks that she’s going to take away the aging with some kind of pill.
I just recently put her on an antibiotic that she handles very well because when she was having tooth problems a few months ago and on them, she seemed less senile and seemed to feel better. I’m experimenting because I think she might have a bladder infection but she won’t go to the doctor, I figure it won’t hurt.
She comes up with crazy stories, like my son flies over her house every morning to check up on her and hubby and I just say something like, “Gosh, I didn’t know that.” My SILs tell her that no such thing happens and get her all upset and then they tell us that “She knows better than that”
Needless to say, she prefers for us to come over and when the daughters are coming over asks us to be there.
Exactly. Are people who don't feel well more likely to take supplements? If so, doesn't this completely invalidate the study?
We fish east coast....Hudson’s Canyon; east of Montauk. Most of our catch is involved with the Gulf Stream at some point in their travels. ;)
Just . . . damn :-D. Sounds like she likes you quite a bit. Also have you tried a huge bottle of cranberry juice for the potential bladder infection? When I had them a lot they always worked. Anyway it sounds as though you could be a physician or nurse with the antibiotic dispensing. So what the hell do I know? haha. Glad good, crazy ole' impressive MIL is full of personality. Makes life more interesting and fun huh? ;-).
I remember those times! How did we survive as long as we did? LOL without bicycle helmets, or seat belts.
Ha ha, no I’m not a Dr. but I know one well.
even better :). get the benies without all the schooling and time investment. No wonder your MIL likes you. You’re fun and smart :D. I’d hate to be a rattlesnake in her presence haha.
If you haven’t read it already, you may be interested in this post. Specifically see the first comment by Swordmaker.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2769347/posts
I used to get bladder infections all the time as a kid. Drinking orange juice would always give me one, looking at pineapple juice would give me one. Mom always gave me a big glass of cranberry juice and acidophilous pills. Wish we had known about the d-mannose back then!
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