Why was the conference held?
What were the goals of the conference?
Program and Abstract Book
Systematic Literature Review
Webcast Archive Day 1, Day 2, Day 3
What were the results?
Final Conference Statement
NIH Press Release
Why was the conference held?
It is estimated that more than one-third of American adults take multi-vitamin/mineral (MVM) supplements regularly. Recommendations regarding supplement use from expert groups vary widely, as does the strength of the evidence supporting such guidelines. As more Americans seek strategies for maintaining good health and preventing disease, and as the marketplace offers an increasing number of products to fill that desire, it is important the consumers have the best possible information to inform their choices.
To address these issues, the Office of Dietary Supplements and the Office of Medical Applications of Research of the National Institutes of Health convened a State-of-the-Science Conference on Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements and Chronic Disease Prevention, (May 15-17, 2006) in Bethesda, Maryland.
What were the goals of the conference?
The conference was convened to assess the evidence available on MVM use and outcomes for chronic disease prevention in adults, and to make recommendations for future research. The conference explored the following key questions:
- What are the current patterns and prevalence of the public’s use of MVM supplements?
- What is known about the dietary nutrient intake of MVM users versus non-users?
- What is the efficacy of single vitamin/mineral supplement use in chronic disease prevention?
- What is the efficacy of MVM in chronic disease prevention in the general population of adults?
- What is known about the safety of MVM for the generally healthy population?
- What are the major knowledge gaps and research opportunities regarding MVM use?
What were the results?
- Conference Statement: On Wednesday, May 17, the panel presented a draft statement of its collective assessment of the evidence to answer each of the questions above. The statement reflects the panel’s assessment of medical knowledge available at the time of the statement was written. The final version was released approximately four weeks after the conference.
- NIH Press Release: The panel also held a press conference on Wednesday, May 17, 2006, to address the questions from the media. A news release based on the draft statement was distributed at that time.