Dietary supplements for human health. What do we really know? A systematic review of umbrella reviews
Abstract
Background and objective. The potential benefits of dietary supplements for human health have been known since ancient times, but high-quality evidence on their efficacy is lacking. Furthermore, the overwhelming amount of available studies contributes to the vagueness of this topic. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence on the health benefits of dietary supplements. Methods. A Medline search (via PubMed) was performed. Results. 62 umbrella reviews (also known as reviews of reviews) were retrieved. Most of the results/findings (41.3%) suggested potential beneficial effects of dietary supplements on human health, but with low to very low certainty of evidence. Twenty results/findings (26.7%) supported the efficacy of dietary supplements in improving biochemical parameters and preserving human health, with moderate to high certainty of evidence. All other studies showed uncertain/conflicting results or inefficacy. Conclusions. The demonstration of the beneficial properties of dietary supplements is far from conclusive and high-quality studies are needed.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a systematic review. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
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