Following the release of the Iowa Women’s Health Study which indicated a correlation between a higher use of vitamin supplements and death rates, First Health Associates has issued the following public statement.

First Health Associates and its individual providers have come together to express our concerns with the study as one voice.  The Iowa Women’s Health Study claims to have found a correlation between supplement use and higher mortality rates.  This study has garnered much media attention, however the study was limited by the fact that it has lower statistical validity than is typically accepted in medical research.  Furthermore, the study found a correlation between mortality rates and supplement use, which is simply an observation in data and does not suggest that supplements are the cause of the findings.

There were several important aspects of the study not mentioned in the media blips that we feel are warrant mention:

• Segmented Population:  the study followed a group of women (50-69 years old) for 18 years, making the age range by the end of the study was 68-87 years old.
• Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT):  This population has a higher incidence of HRT which has been shown to carry certain health risks.  One finding in the study was that supplement users were also more likely to use HRT, which could have been a significant attribute to the statistical findings
• Drug-Nutrient Interactions:  This population currently takes on average 5 or more medications per day. This drastically increases the risk for drug-nutrient interactions, making unguided supplement use a potentially hazardous practice.
• Individual Micro-nutrients:  dosing with large amounts of individual nutrients can lead to toxicity and block the absorption of other key nutrients from food.  For example, Copper supplements block Zinc uptake, and were highlighted in the research as a risk factor.
• Un-Guided Use:  Subjects in this study were self-prescribing supplements and like many patients, were likely not discussing their supplement regimen with their medical care team.

It has been our observation that by educating patients on proper dietary supplement intake through an integrated care process, supplements can be a valuable tool used to improve health and promote healthy life years (HLY).  Based on the vast amount of positive research available on dietary supplements in the treatment and support of many medical conditions, we at First Health Associates continue to support the use of supplements for health promotion.

We do however feel that there is value to this study that further indicates the importance for professional guidance when using supplements, and we strongly encourage patients to discuss their supplementation regimen with their medical care team in order to integrate nutritional components into the care plan as opposed to supplementing the care plan with individual nutrients.