Does taking 400 international units (IU) of vitamin E each day increase the risk of death

https://nei.nih.gov/news/statements/vitamine

The following is extracted from the above web page dated 14 December 2004.

(1) In the ARED (Age-Related Eye Disease) study, scientists found that people at high risk of developing advanced stages of AMD (age-related macular degeneration) could lower their risk of the disease by about 25 percent when treated with a high-dose combination of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and zinc.

(2) After careful study and interpretation of the data from the paper in Annals of Internal Medicine, the NEI (National Eye Institute) researchers have concluded that taking a recommended 400 international units (IU) of vitamin E each day, as part of the AREDS formulation, does not increase the risk of death of persons at risk for advanced AMD.

“If the reason for taking vitamin E is to decrease mortality, we agree with the authors of this new study that there does not seem to be any benefit of vitamin E for most patients and there might be some harm at very high doses of 500 IU or more,” Emily Chew, M.D., deputy director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Research at NEI.

“However if you are at high risk for developing AMD, there is a benefit in taking the AREDS formulation that includes vitamin E. Different patients have different needs and it is important to discuss with your doctor whether this formulation is right for you,” says Dr. Chew.

In the new study, the data seem to show that people taking particularly high doses of vitamin E (500 IU to 2000 IU) may have a slightly increased risk of death.

However, taking 400 IU vitamin E per day did not increase the risk of death in a total of 15,000 patients studied in several different clinical trials.

For additional information on the AREDS, please visit www.nei.nih.gov/amd