I posted recently about the value of health studies and now I’ve just read an article describing a study claiming that vitamins are bad for you. This is another great example of the health crisis du jour. It’s also a great example of people trying to attach great significance to something that’s at the most inconclusive and at the least completely worthless.

Apparently some scientists at Copenhagen University have taken a bunch of studies and combined the results to produce a new set of statistics. While I’m not familiar with the actual methodology, it seems to me that this sort of thing is inherently dangerous to begin with. Were all of these studies on the efficacy of vitamins or was the research focused on some other factor? That can make a big difference.

The author of this article talks of the increased risk to vitamin takers revealed by the study:

While the risk of death was unchanged among selenium and vitamin C users, a statistically significant increase in risk emerged for the other three supplements.

Beta-carotene produced an approximate 7% increased risk, vitamin E a 4% increase and vitamin A, a 16% increase.

Let’s put this in perspective. These are supposed to be quantifying the increased risk of early death. First of all, I’m not sure exactly what early death is supposed to mean, but let’s just accept that for a moment. If I have a 10% chance of early death to begin with, then a 7% increase in risk leaves me with the terrible consequence of facing life with a 10.7% chance of early death. Time to ban the vitamins, Prince Charles!

Needless to say, this is clearly not statistically significant. Yes, there are those of you who will argue that all these little risks add up. There may be some truth in that assertion, but that idea itself would have to be put to a scientific, empirical test.

So, even if the results of this study turn out to be legitimate, which I highly doubt, the increased risk that is so alarmingly related is not anything to worry about at all. We don’t even know what sort of margin of error the study has. 5%? 10%? Who knows?

While a balanced diet is certainly better for you than taking a handful of vitamin supplements every day, there’s really nothing here to get worked up about. The author of the article seems to want to convey that notion in the end by finishing with a strong quote from an expert who is highly critical of study results.

Ultimately, overdoing the supplements is probably not a good idea, but I seriously doubt your vitamins are killing you.