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    Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Apr 1;169(7):815-28. Epub 2009 Feb 10.

    Long-term use of beta-carotene, retinol, lycopene, and lutein supplements and lung cancer risk: results from the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) study.

    Satia JA, Littman A, Slatore CG, Galanko JA, White E.

    Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. jsatia@unc.edu

    Erratum in:

    • Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Jun 1;169(11):1409. Dosage error in article text.

    Comment in:

    High-dose beta-carotene supplementation in high-risk persons has been linked to increased lung cancer risk in clinical trials; whether effects are similar in the general population is unclear. The authors examined associations of supplemental beta-carotene, retinol, vitamin A, lutein, and lycopene with lung cancer risk among participants, aged 50-76 years, in the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort Study in Washington State. In 2000-2002, eligible persons (n = 77,126) completed a 24-page baseline questionnaire, including detailed questions about supplement use (duration, frequency, dose) during the previous 10 years from multivitamins and individual supplements/mixtures. Incident lung cancers (n = 521) through December 2005 were identified by linkage to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry. Longer duration of use of individual beta-carotene, retinol, and lutein supplements (but not total 10-year average dose) was associated with statistically significantly elevated risk of total lung cancer and histologic cell types; for example, hazard ratio = 2.02, 95% confidence interval: 1.28, 3.17 for individual supplemental lutein with total lung cancer and hazard ratio = 3.22, 95% confidence interval: 1.29, 8.07 for individual beta-carotene with small-cell lung cancer for >4 years versus no use. There was little evidence for effect modification by gender or smoking status. Long-term use of individual beta-carotene, retinol, and lutein supplements should not be recommended for lung cancer prevention, particularly among smokers.

    PMID: 19208726 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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