The
VITamin D and OmegA-3 Trial (VITAL) is the largest and most recent to test
whether vitamin D or fish oil can effectively prevent cancer or cardiovascular
disease. Results to date have been mixed but show promise for some outcomes,
now confirmed by updated pooled (meta) analyses. The latest results from VITAL
will be presented during The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Annual
Meeting in Chicago, September 25-28, 2019.
Nearly
26,000 U.S. men and women participated in the nationwide VITAL clinical trial.
After more than five years of study and treatment, the results show promising
signals for certain outcomes. For example, while Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)
showed only a small, but nonsignificant, reduction in the primary
cardiovascular endpoint of major CVD events, they were associated with
significant reductions in heart attacks. The greatest treatment benefit was
seen in people with dietary fish intake below the cohort median of 1.5 servings
per week but not in those whose intake was above that level. In addition,
African-Americans appeared to experience the greatest risk reductions. The
heart health benefits are now confirmed by recent meta-analyses of omega-3
randomized trials.
Similarly,
vitamin D supplementation did not reduce major CVD events or total cancer
incidence but was associated with a statistically significant reduction in
total cancer mortality among those in the trial at least two years. The effect
of vitamin D in reducing cancer death is also confirmed by updated
meta-analyses of vitamin D trials to date.
"The
pattern of findings suggests a complex balance of benefits and risks for each
intervention and points to the need for additional research to determine which
individuals may be most likely to derive a net benefit from these
supplements," says Dr. JoAnn Manson, lead author of the study from Brigham
and Women's Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
"With
heart disease and cancer representing the most significant health threats to
women, it is imperative that we continue to study the viability of options that
prevent these diseases and help women survive them," says Dr. Stephanie
Faubion, NAMS medical director.
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