Over a twenty-seven year period, vitamin supplements have been alleged to have caused the deaths of a total of eleven people in the United States.
A new analysis of US poison control center annual report data indicates that there have, in fact, been no deaths whatsoever from vitamins…none at all, in the 27 years that such reports have been available.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) attributes annual deaths to vitamins as follows:
2009: zero
2008: zero
2007: zero
2006: one
2005: zero
2004: two
2003: two
2002: one
2001: zero
2000: zero
1999: zero
1998: zero
1997: zero
1996: zero
1995: zero
1994: zero
1993: one
1992: zero
1991: two
1990: one
1989: zero
1988: zero
1987: one
1986: zero
1985: zero
1984: zero
1983: zero
Even if these figures are taken as correct, and even if they include intentional and accidental misuse, the number of alleged vitamin fatalities is strikingly low, averaging less than one death per year for over two and a half decades.
In 19 of those 27 years, AAPCC reports that there was not one single death due to vitamins. [1]
Still, the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service Editorial Board was curious: Did eleven people really die from vitamins? And if so, how?
Vitamins Not THE Cause of Death
In determining cause of death, AAPCC uses a four-point scale called Relative Contribution to Fatality (RCF).
A rating of 1 means "Undoubtedly Responsible"; 2 means "Probably Responsible"; 3 means "Contributory"; and 4 means "Probably Not Responsible."
In examining poison control data for the year 2006, listing one vitamin death, it was seen that the vitamin's Relative Contribution to Fatality (RCF) was a 4.
Since a score of "4" means "Probably Not Responsible," it quite negates the claim that a person died from a vitamin in 2006.
Vitamins Not A Cause of Death
In the other seven years reporting one or more of the remaining ten alleged vitamin fatalities, studying the AAPCC reports reveals an absence of any RCF rating for vitamins in any of those years.
If there is no Relative Contribution to Fatality at all, then the substance did not contribute to death at all.
Furthermore, in each of those remaining seven years, there is no substantiation provided to demonstrate that any vitamin was a cause of death.
If there is insufficient information about the cause of death to make a clear-cut declaration of cause, then subsequent assertions that vitamins cause deaths are not evidence-based.
Although vitamin supplements have often been blamed for causing fatalities, there is no evidence to back up this allegation.
Commentary by Andrew W. Saul and Jagan N. Vaman, M.D.
(The "Vitamin" category is usually near the very end of the report.)
Most recent year: Bronstein AC, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR Jr, Green JL, Rumack BH, Giffin SL. 2009 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poison Data System (NPDS): 27th Annual Report. Clinical Toxicology (2010). 48, 979-1178. The full text article is available for free download at:
http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/Portals/0/2009%20AR.pdf
The vitamin data mentioned above will be found in Table 22B.
Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine. Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org
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Posts
Over 100,000 people a year die from prescription medicines according to the latest data. Why don't we hear about his in the mainstream media? Why are they always carping about the alleged dangers of vitamins and nutritional supplements?
ReplyDeleteAnon, it's because the mainstream media gets hundreds of millions of dollars annually in advertising revenue from Big Pharma. They're not about to bite the hand that feeds them!
ReplyDelete