ArticleBMJ open2020
Self-reported health without clinically measurable benefits among adult users of multivitamin and multimineral supplements: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Micronutrients and omega-3 PUFAs to promote healthy ageing: informing a physiology-based complementation strategy.GeroScience · 2026Review
- Consumer-Relevant Endpoints in Nutritional Supplement Research: A Case of Multivitamin and Mineral Supplements.Current developments in nutrition · 2026Review
- Healthy lifestyle partly mediates the association between self-rated health and risk of overall and cause-specific mortality.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Associations Between Daily-Use Products and Urinary Biomarkers of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Adults of Reproductive Age.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Eating habits and dietary supplement utilization according to food-related lifestyle among Korean adults: a cross-sectional study.Korean journal of community nutrition · 2024Article
- A Personalized Intervention to Increase Environmental Health Literacy and Readiness to Change in a Northern Nevada Population: Effects of Environmental Chemical Exposure Report-Back.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 8 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveMultiple clinical trials fail to identify clinically measurable health benefits of daily multivitamin and multimineral (MVM) consumption in the general adult population. Understanding the determinants of widespread use of MVMs may guide efforts to better educate the public about effective nutritional practices. The objective of this study was to compare self-reported and clinically measurable health outcomes among MVM users and non-users in a large, nationally representative adult civilian non-institutionalised population in the USA surveyed on the use of complementary health practices.
designCross-sectional analysis of the effect of MVM consumption on self-reported overall health and clinically measurable health outcomes.
participantsAdult MVM users and non-users from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (n=21 603). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Five psychological, physical, and functional health outcomes: (1) self-rated health status, (2) needing help with routine needs, (3) history of 10 chronic diseases, (4) presence of 19 health conditions in the past 12 months, and (5) Kessler 6-Item (K6) Psychological Distress Scale to measure non-specific psychological distress in the past month.
resultsAmong 4933 adult MVM users and 16 670 adult non-users, MVM users self-reported 30% better overall health than non-users (adjusted OR 1.31; 95% CI 1.17 to 1.46; false discovery rate adjusted p<0.001). There were no differences between MVM users and non-users in history of 10 chronic diseases, number of present health conditions, severity of current psychological distress on the K6 Scale and rates of needing help with daily activities. No effect modification was observed after stratification by sex, education, and race.
conclusionsMVM users self-reported better overall health despite no apparent differences in clinically measurable health outcomes. These results suggest that widespread use of multivitamins in adults may be a result of individuals' positive expectation that multivitamin use leads to better health outcomes or a self-selection bias in which MVM users intrinsically harbour more positive views regarding their health.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.