The Folate Debate
Reported November 10, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — An estimated one-third of adults in the United States currently take a multivitamin containing folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12, but the supplement might not be doing any good when it comes to cancer.
Folate and the essential B vitamins are widely believed to play a role in cancer prevention; but a new study reveals supplements containing the three may not protect women with heart disease from cancer.
Researchers studied 5,442 women age 42 and older with pre-existing cardiovascular disease or three or more coronary risk factors. For seven years, a group of the women received a daily supplement containing folic acid and the B vitamins. Results of the study show women who received the treatment had a similar risk of developing cancer, including breast cancer, to the women who didnt receive it.
Age, however, contributed to the supplements effect on cancer risk. Women age 65 years and older had a significantly reduced risk for total invasive cancer and breast cancer, but there were no reductions in risk among women 40 to 64 years old.
If the finding is real and substantiated, the results may have public health significance because the incidence rates of cancer are high in elderly persons, study authors wrote. The finding is biologically plausible because elderly individuals have increased requirements for these B vitamins.
SOURCE: JAMA, 2008;300:2012-2021
