High doses of energy-boosting vitamin B12 and B6 supplements ‘quadruple a man’s risk of lung cancer’

THEY are an every day supplement sold to us as a natural way to boost energy.

But over-the-counter vitamin B12 and B6 supplements may significantly increase a man’s risk of developing lung cancer.

A new study found that men who take high doses of the energy-boosting vitamins over a long period had a two-to-four-fold increased risk of developing the disease.

And the risk if even higher if they smoke.

Vitamin B12 and B6 are both involved in keeping red blood cells – the cells that carry oxygen throughout the body – healthy and absorbing and releasing energy from foods like proteins, fats and carbs.

They are found naturally in meats, fish, cheese, eggs, milk and fortified cereals but millions of people in the UK choose to take supplements that can be bought in pharmacies and supermarkets.

The NHS recommends men eat 1.4 milligrams of vitamin B6 a day and 1.5 micrograms of vitamin B12 a day.

But some supplements available in stores contain up to 1000 micrograms of vitamin B12 and up to 100 milligrams of vitamin B6 – far more than the recommended dose.

Researchers from Ohio State University analysed more than 77,000 patients aged between 50 and 70.

They were asked to report how much b-vitamins they consumed over the last 10 years, including dosage information from supplements.

Researchers took into account personal smoking history, age, race, education, body size, alcohol consumption, personal history of cancer or chronic lung disease, family history of lung cancer and use of anti-inflammatory drugs before analysing if the vitamins put them at a greater risk of cancer.

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Co-author Theodore Brasky said: “This sets all of these other influencing factors as equal, so we are left with a less confounded effect of long-term B6 and B12 super-supplementation.

“Our data shows that taking high doses of B6 and B12 over a very long period of time could contribute to lung cancer incidence rates in male smokers.

“This is certainly a concern worthy of further evaluation.”

Men who smoked and took more than 20 milligrams of vitamin B6 per day for 10 years were three times more likely to develop lung cancer.

And men who smoked and took more than 55 micrograms of B12 per day for 10 years were four times more likely to develop the disease.

The risk was associated with taking more than 20 milligrams of vitamin B6 or 55 micrograms of B12 per day for 10 years.

But there was no similar link found in women.

The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

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