'Vitamins can increase the risk of early death'

Thousands of people taking vitamins could be at risk of premature death, according to research published today.

A review of antioxidant vitamin supplements, such as Vitamin E, found that instead of saving lives they appeared to increase the overall dangers.

Researchers who examined a series of trials involving 170,000 people claimed that for every million supplement users there are 9,000 premature deaths.

Pooling the results of 14 trials assessing the effect of vitamins on cancers of the gullet, stomach and intestine, bowel, pancreas and liver, they discovered no protective effect from taking supplements of beta-carotene, vitamins A, C and E, and selenium - alone or in combination.

In half the trials there was a small but significant increased risk of premature death among those who took supplements.

The scientists, led by Dr Goran Bjelakovic, from the University of Nis, Serbia and Montenegro, said their results were "unexpected".

Among the supplements used by millions on a daily basis two combinations were associated with increased mortality. The risk of death was 30 per cent higher for people taking beta-carotene and vitamin A than for those not taking the combination. In the case of people taking beta-carotene and vitamin E, relative risk was raised by 10 per cent.

The researchers warned the findings were preliminary, and may partly be due to people taking vitamin doses above recommended levels. Professor David Forman, of Leeds University, and Professor Douglas Altman, from Cancer Research UK, said: "The prospect that vitamin pills may not only do no good but also kill their consumers is a scary speculation given the vast quantities used in certain communities."

But they said the death-rate analysis was incomplete and should not at this stage be seen as "convincing proof of hazard". They added: "In the event that a hazard is established from a complete review, these researchers will need to identify which specific interventions are associated with any risk."

More than 12 million women and eight million men in Britain regularly take vitamin supplements.

Last year the Food Standards Agency singled out five substances that may cause permanent damage if taken in large quantities over a long period.

They were beta-carotene, which was linked to an increased risk of lung cancer in smokers, manganese (muscle and nerve disorders in older people), nicotinic acid (cell damage), phosphorus (damage to organs and tissues) and zinc (damage to the immune system).