The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7362 p184
13 August 2005

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Routine vitamin and mineral supplementation in elderly does not reduce infections

Further evidence to suggest that routine use of multivitamin and mineral supplements in elderly patients living at home does not reduce infections was published last week (BMJ 2005;331:324).

Participants were randomised to a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement (providing 50 per cent to 210 per cent of UK reference nutrient intake) or placebo for 12 months. No significant difference was found between the groups for number of visits to a GP for infection, number of self-reported days of infection and health-related quality of life.

The authors conclude that routine supplementation in elderly people living in the community is unlikely to reduce the number of self-reported infections or associated use of health services. However, they acknowledge that their study used low doses of vitamins and minerals in a relatively healthy study population.