Daily POEMs Alerts
Delivered directly to you by e-mail every Monday through Friday, Daily POEMs identify the most valid, relevant research that may change the way you practice. Monthly, the complete set is compiled and sent for additional summary review. Each Daily POEM is also added to the Daily POEMs database in Essential Evidence Plus, for easy future reference.
Ongoing since 1996, our editors now review more than 1,200 studies monthly from more than 100 medical journals, presenting only the best and most relevant as POEMs.
The acclaimed POEMs process applies specific criteria for validity and relevance to clinical practice. About 1 in 40 studies qualifies.
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Sample Daily POEMs Email Alert View Full Size
A Sample Daily POEMs Email Alert
Vitamin E not helpful, perhaps harmful
Clinical question
In patients with or without heart disease, does vitamin E supplementation decrease mortality?
Bottom line
Vitamin E supplementation does not decrease all-cause mortality in patients with or without pre-existing heart disease. At higher doses it can actually be harmful, although the deleterious effect is small (number needed to treat to harm = 250). (LOE = 1b)
Reference
Miller ER 3rd, Pastor-Barriuso R, Dalal D, Riemersma RA, Appel LJ, Guallar E. Meta-analysis: high-dosage vitamin E supplementation may increase all-cause mortality. Ann Intern Med 2005; 142:37-46.
Study design
Meta-analysis (randomized controlled trials)
Setting
Outpatient (any)
Synopsis
The antioxidant property of vitamin E has led many to use it to prevent cardiovascular or cancer-related mortality. However, several studies and several previous meta-analyses have shown either no benefit or a slight increase in mortality with its use. The authors of this study performed a literature search in the usual way, searching MEDLINE, the Cochrane Clinical Trials Database, and reference lists and files. They included 19 randomized studies of almost 136,000 patients comparing vitamin E with a control or placebo group for at least 1 year and with at least 10 deaths in the trial. Study subjects varied and included elderly patients, healthy adults, and patient with cardiovascular disease. Study results were analyzed by intention to treat. The method of data extraction was not explained and studies were not graded or selected on the basis of quality. In the studies the baseline death rate was approximately 10%. Overall, there was no difference in all-cause mortality between the control group and placebo group. However, when comparing low-dose versus high-dose vitamin E (less than 400 IU/day vs 400 IU/day or more), differences were found. In the studies of lower doses, there was no benefit or detriment to vitamin E supplementation (relative risk = 0.98; 95% CI, 0.96-1.01). When high dose supplementation was studied separately, the risk was slightly but significantly higher in the supplemented group, with a number needed to treat to harm of 250 (143 - 998). The effect of vitamin E supplementation was not different when the results were evaluated by patient's sex or average age, or by the length of follow-up.
