October 11/Minneapolis/Reuters -- Women taking multivitamins do not live longer than those who get their nutrients from food alone, according to a U.S. study that found they in fact appear to have slightly higher death rates.
About half of adult U.S. residents take dietary supplements, and the industry now boasts of annual sales as high as $20 billion. Yet research suggests that some of the largely unregulated substances, such as vitamins A and E, could be harmful in high doses, according to an editorial published with the study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.