Results: Allocation to B vitamins was associated with a higher risk of overall cancer [171 (13.6%) vs. 143 (11.3%); HR 1.25; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00–1.53, P = 0.05]. B vitamins were significantly associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer [43(3.4%) vs. 25(2.0%); HR 1.77; 95% CI, 1.08–2.90, P = 0.02].
Conclusions: Folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.
That's right folks, they're judging this (2524 participants) based on the supplimented group having 30 more cases of cancer (and 20 of those cases being colorectal, the most likely when you're old) than the control group. Of 2524 people, the difference between control and supplimented is thirty. When other studies are having trouble controlling for cancer affecting their results because once you hit eighty, it's pretty common. just because your sample had 30 more. It doesn't mention what this means compared to the normal cancer rate in the abstract.
But, dear reader, it gets funnier.
The intervention dosage was 500 μg vitamin B12 and 400 μg folic acid per day. Although the dosage of folic acid was close to the recommended daily intake and well below the tolerable upper intake level for folic acid of 1 mg/day in Europe (35), the dosage of vitamin B12 was almost 200 times higher than the recommended intake. For vitamin B12, no systematic toxicologic effects have been reported so far (35), but we cannot rule out that the high dosage of vitamin B12 supplementation influenced the risk of colorectal cancer in our study.
emphasis mine. Now go look at the excerpt above that one and see if you notice anything strange. Thats right, 'b vitamins were associated with a higher cancer risk', except you're giving them 400 times the dose. if it does increase cancer... where's your ethics board? They knew going into this that it might -- it's setting out to study it! The standard, intensive INTRAMUSCULAR dose is 100mcg/2d. yeah maybe don't take the 2000mcg pills daily once you're above 70
This is being used to keep treatment that might help (and is safer than being b12 deficient...) away from someone I care about, but I just. I can't get over how bad this paper is and how doctors just fall for bad science, often more than patients do!
