As members of Georgia’s House of Representatives debate whether to prohibit abortions for women more than 20 weeks pregnant, House Democrats  planned to introduce their own reproductive rights plan: No more vasectomies that leave "thousands of children … deprived of birth." Rep. Yasmin Neal, a Democrat from the Atlanta suburb of Jonesboro, planned to introduce a bill Wednesday that would prevent men from vasectomies unless needed to avert serious injury or death. “If we legislate women’s bodies, it’s only fair that we legislate men’s,” said Neal, who said she wanted to introduce a bill that would generate emotion and conversation the way anti-abortion bills do. “There are too many problems in the state. Why are you under the skirts of women? I’m sure there are other places to be." Filed under: Men’s Health , Pregnancy , Women’s Health Tagged: Jamie Gumbrecht — CNN

Nearly every 34 seconds someone in the United States has a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association.  In fact, heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the U.S. But that’s where some of the similarities end. A study of heart attack patients finds that women are more likely than men to show up at the hospital without the classic chest pain symptoms of heart attack. The study also shows that women are more likely to die in the hospital following a heart attack. The study was published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association . Researchers used data from more than 1 million patients in the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction, a large national database of heart attack patients from about 1,600 acute care hospitals in the United States. Women comprised 42% of the patients in the study. The database is sponsored by Genentech, Inc., which makes an anti-clotting prescription drug, but that product was not discussed in this study, which focused on sex, age, and heart attack symptoms of hospital patients. The heart is a muscle that requires oxygen to fuel it’s constant beating. When the blood flow bringing oxygen to the heart is impaired or cut off by a blockage, a heart attack occurs. Recognizing that a patient is having a heart attack and beginning treatment quickly is vital to preserving the heart. Without blood flow and oxygen, the heart muscle begins to die, forming scars that damage and impair heart function, and producing serious long term health problems. “Patients without chest pain/discomfort tend to present later, are treated less aggressively, and have almost twice the short-term mortality compared with those presenting with more typical symptoms of [heart attack]," the study authors write. While the symptoms of heart attack typically include chest pain and discomfort, likened to having an elephant sitting on your chest, previous studies have shown that women often have less typical heart attack symptoms including dizziness, shortness of breath, upper back pressure, extreme fatigue, nausea, or pressure in the lower chest or belly, according to the American Heart Association. Among the study participants, women presenting with heart attacks were older than men, averaging 74 years compared to 67 years for men. Women were also less likely to have chest pains or discomfort – 42% of women had no chest pains, compared to only 30.7% of men without chest pains. Age was also a factor for symptoms: Younger women were less likely to have chest pain symptoms compared to men of the same age, although that difference equalized among the sexes with increasing age. In-hospital deaths for women was 14.6%, compared to 10.3% for men. While the authors note the reasons for sex-based differences in heart attacks are largely unknown, they cite research suggesting that estrogen in women may have a protective effect on their hearts. The study concludes that more research – specifically looking at differences in symptoms between the sexes and age groups – is needed to better identify heart attacks that may have atypical symptoms. Filed under: Heart , Men’s Health , Women’s Health Tagged: Ann J. Curley – CNN Medical Assignment Manager

The list of reasons to quit smoking just got longer. A new study published today on the website of the Archives of General Psychiatry has found that smoking appears to accelerate the pace of age-related cognitive decline in middle-aged men. The mental function of the average 50-year-old male smoker can be expected to decline as quickly as that of a 60-year-old who has never smoked, the researchers estimate, even after factors such as educational level and overall health are taken into account. "While we were aware that smoking is a risk factor for lung diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, this study shows also its detrimental effect on cognitive aging," says lead author Séverine Sabia, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at University College in London. "This detrimental effect is evident as soon as [age] 45." And it's not just the pack-a-day crowd that needs to worry. So-called social smokers also put their brains at risk whenever they light up, the study suggests. "Intermittent smokers showed the same cognitive decline as persistent smokers, showing the importance of definitive smoking cessation," Sabia says. Female smokers did not display similar declines. Researchers say this unexpected finding may reflect gender differences in smoking and health patterns, rather than differences in how the brain responds to smoking. "That is new and surprising," says Joseph Quinn, M.D., a neurologist at Oregon Health and Science University, in Portland, who was not involved in the new research. "While there are lots of possible explanations, all are speculative. But women are not off the hook." Health.com: The 10 states most addicted to smoking Sabia and her colleagues analyzed data on 7,236 British civil servants who participated in a long-running health study known as Whitehall II. Over a 25-year period, the men and women periodically answered questions about their smoking habits: how old they were when they started to smoke; how much they smoked each day; and, if they'd quit, how long it had been since they kicked the habit. Three times in 10 years, the same group also underwent a battery of tests designed to measure their short-term memory and their capacity to plan, organize, and pay attention (known as executive function). On average, the workers were 56 years old when they first took the brain tests. Male smokers "showed a cognitive decline as fast as non-smokers 10 years older than them," Sabia says. Health.com: Crazy ways smokers finally kicked the habit There was some good news. Former smokers who had been off cigarettes for at least ten years showed no increase in cognitive decline compared to men who had never smoked. "Anyone who stops smoking reduces their risk," Quinn says. One question the study can't answer is whether the cognitive decline the researchers measured can be linked to Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, says David Teplow, Ph.D., interim director of the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Research at UCLA, in Los Angeles. "Are these people going to get diseases? That's what we want to know," Teplow says, adding that he hopes the researchers will continue to follow the study participants into old age, when a potential link between smoking and dementia would become apparent. Health.com: 25 signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease Previous research has identified smoking as a risk factor for dementia, but the extent of the association remains unclear, Sabia and her colleagues note. In the meantime, the study's message for smokers is clear: Quit now. "It is just that simple," Teplow says. "Live a healthy life, exercise, and eat a good diet. And a good diet means not inhaling cigarette smoke." Filed under: Health , Health.com , Men’s Health , Smoking Tagged: Matt McMillen – Health.com

The good news about life expectancy is that both men and women are living longer than ever before. The bad news about longevity is that it is often accompanied by certain diseases. When it comes to older men, prostate cancer tops the list. Fortunately, there is a growing body of evidence that certain dietary and Related posts: The Prostate Cancer Diet Beating Prostate Cancer Naturally Herbs and Prostate Cancer Breast and Prostate Cancer News White Tea, Skin Aging, Prostate & Breast Cancer Updates

Men who are narcissistic are likely to have higher levels of a primary stress hormone called cortisol, a new study finds. However, the same trend was not as strong for women with narcissist traits, according to research published Monday in the journal Public Library of Science ONE. “The more narcissistic, the more cortisol that men have in mundane situations,” said author Sara Konrath, who is the director of the Interdisciplinary Program on Empathy and Altruism Research at the University of Michigan. Narcissism is a trait that exhibits “grandiosity, an inflated sense of self-importance, and overestimations of uniqueness.”  If severe, it can also be a personality disorder recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders The trait has some positive qualities, such as abundance of self-esteem and positive sense of self.  Narcissistic people characteristically tend to overestimate their intellectual abilities, attractiveness and positive personality traits, wrote Konrath. But they don’t enjoy healthy relationships with others because they’re generally low on empathy and high in hostility – especially when their positive self-image is threatened. Since previous research confirmed that narcissism has a harmful effect on relationships, Konrath wanted to know more. “I wondered if there’s harm going on, but it’s a harm we can’t articulate or recognize,” she said. Narcissists aren’t likely to admit that they’re stressed or anxious.  So she needed an objective measure and decided to use cortisol levels to understand how narcissism could affect one’s health. In the study, 106 undergraduate students (79 females, 27 males, mean age 20.1 years) from one Midwestern and one Southwestern American university took two cortisol tests and answered several questions about themselves.  They were unknowingly taking the Narcissistic Personality Inventory , which is used to assess people’s narcissism. It gives statements like “I find it easy to manipulate people,” and “If I ruled the world it would be a better place," to which the respondent agrees or disagrees. Konrath observed that men with higher levels of narcissism had more cortisol.  It was minimal in women, but about 2.5 times stronger in men. Cortisol is a measurement of how prepared your body is ready to respond to a threat, said Konrath.  If the cortisol response is always high in the absence of a threat, it indicates an overactive response in the body.  This can have long-term health effects such as blood sugar imbalances, heart problems and weight gain. The study could not determine why men appeared to be much more affected than women. But Konrath suggested that there could be overlaps between narcissism and male gender roles. “We think what’s going on is, there’s some sort of especially toxic relationship between both being male and having a sense of masculinity or threat to a masculine identity.” There could be a special vigilance for any threats that challenge their sense of toughness and competence,  she said. Filed under: Men’s Health , Stress Tagged: Madison Park – CNNhealth.com Writer/Producer

The ache, the hurt, the burn, the stab. We use all kinds of words to describe pain, but the truth is that there’s no way to know if what you experience as pain differs from anyone else’s – it’s a matter of individual perception. Scientists are honing in on a disparity between men and women that may exist in that perception. In the largest study of its kind, Stanford researchers analyzed electronic medical records for ratings of pain, and found that women tend to report greater amounts of pain in a variety of diagnoses. They report their results in Monday in the Journal of Pain. The explanation could be that women are more vocal and forthcoming about the pain they experience, and that men are less so. But some pain doctors think the study reflects ongoing problems regarding the underdiagnosis and undertreatment of pain in women , and that there could even be biological underpinnings to this gap. Researchers used electronic medical records from Stanford Hospital and Clinic for more than 72,000 patients. The records, when put together, contained more than 160,000 pain scores in more than 250 primary diagnoses. They narrowed this down to more than 11,000 patients with pain scores that had been recorded as part of their routine medical care. They found the greatest differences in patients with musculoskeletal, circulatory, respiratory and digestive system disorders. There were also sex-specific differences in the intensiveness of pain in disorders of the cervical region and acute sinusitis. The findings make sense in the context of what experimental pain studies have found in the past. On average, across many diseases, women reported experiencing pain one point higher than men on an 11-point scale. That may not seem like much, but a one-point difference can be used as an indication that a drug is working, said Dr. Atul Butte, senior author of the study and associate professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. “We actually use these numbers. We use these as a kind of threshold – when do we start pain medicine? Are we treating someone with enough pain medicine?” he said. “We need to have that understanding that there is a sex difference here.” In the data set, researchers used only the first pain score associated with a clinical visit. But there are certain caveats: Some patients may be represented in the sample multiple times. Researchers did not obtain information about patients’ use of over-the-counter drugs prior to their hospital visit, which could be a factor that influences pain reporting. Still, the large size of the data set means individual biases may be less of a factor than on smaller studies on pain. Two pain scales were used: verbal and non-verbal (based on an external observer). Adult patients were asked to rate their pain from 0, meaning “no pain” to 11, meaning “worst pain imaginable.” For patients unable to communicate, trained personnel assessed them on an 11-point scale. However, another problem with the study is that most records didn’t identify whether it was the patient or observer who rated the pain. There are a variety of possible explanations for these findings, including hormones, genetics or psychological factors. The stage of the menstrual cycle may affect women’s reporting of their pain, for example. Study authors also note that women are more likely to seek medical care than men, and that the gender of the evaluating physician may affect how patients report their pain. But even if more women go to the doctor, that doesn’t mean they are getting the treatment they need, said Dr. Gaurav Trehan, director of interventional pain medicine at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, who did not contribute to this study. Other research has suggested that women have more severe, frequent and longer-lasting pain than men generally. Laboratory studies of pain inflicted on participants have also found that women generally have a lower pain threshold than men. “A lot of times cognitive, emotional and behavioral factors really influence the level and someone’s experience with pain,” said Dr. Irene Wu, assistant clinical professor of anesthesiology at UCLA Medical Center, who was not involved with the study. She said women's stress may also make pain seem worse. From Wu’s experience, women tend to point to multiple areas of their body that give them pain, whereas men are more concise and complain of pain in one part specifically. She notes that chronic pain conditions that are more common in women, such as fibromyalgia, can compound women’s pain experience in general. Similarly, women also tend to let their pain build up in various areas, so that by the time they get to a doctor there are a lot of spots that need to be addressed, she said. “They take it in a lot more and for longer periods of time, so when it does accumulate, it may seem like at the doctor’s office their pain is so much more severe than men’s pain is,” she said. And it may be that because of the popular notion that women can tolerate more pain than men – they often go through childbirth and decades of menstrual cramps, for instance – women do not receive adequate pain medications, Trehan said. Other groups of scientists are looking at what happens in the brain when men and women experience pain, to see if there is a biological basis for their differing perceptions. Preliminary studies have found that there may be parts of the brain more active in men than in women when pain is induced, Trehan said. Further research is needed to better understand what underlies this apparent sex difference in the experience of pain. "We need to look beyond the pain," Wu said. "We need to treat the pain from a medical perspective, but I think we also need to make sure, and adequately assess, how well the patient is dealing with the pain." Filed under: Men’s Health , Mental Health , Pain , Women’s Health Tagged: Elizabeth Landau – CNN.com Health Writer/Producer

Researchers have found more evidence that annual prostate cancer screening, called PSA test,  in men doesn't save lives.   Scientists followed 76,000 men for 10 to 13 years and found annual screening for prostate cancer led to more diagnoses but didn't result in less deaths from the disease, according to a new study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Last October, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against routine PSA screenings for most men because of similar concerns about the accuracy of screening using a blood test that measures a protein called prostate-specific antigen or PSA. Dr. Otis Brawley,  the chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society said the harms of screening are better proved than the benefits,which is why he supports the USPSTF recommendations.  A substantial number of men receive unnecessary treatment because of the annual tests,which can lead to harms such as impotence and incontinence and can even lead to premature death, he wrote. For the population at large, PSA screening may not be beneficial and the harms may outweigh the benefits, said Dr. Gerald Andriole, the study's lead author and chief of division of urologic surgery at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.  The majority of prostate cancers are very slow-growing tumors and men will probably not die from it.  However, in the U.S. if a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer he's most likely going to choose the most aggressive treatment. Researchers found that some subgroups of men did benefit from annual screenings.  "For the healthiest men, there was a significant reduction in prostate cancer mortality among men who got screened.  In addition to that group, also men who have strong family history of prostate cancer, and African-American men [who are twice as likely to die from  prostate cancer as caucasian men] should also get PSA testing," said Andriole. "In the case of a man undergoing an annual checkup, I would not recommend that a PSA test be included with other 'routine' blood test without a specific conversation between the doctor and patient or caregiver and patient about the pros and cons for him, the patients specific circumstances," said Andriole. Dr. Lee Ponsky, a urologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland is part of a group of researchers looking at more sensitive ways of detecting prostate cancer. He said for now, "the PSA test is the best we've got, but it certainly has its shortcomings." While researchers are looking into different ways of screening and how to classify prostate cancer once diagnosed, Ponsky said we are several years from a simpler test such as a blood or urine one that can detect cancer and determine whether or not it needs aggressive treatment right away. The study was published Friday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Filed under: Cancer , Men’s Health Tagged: Trisha Henry – CNN Medical Producer

Ian Kerner , a sexuality counselor and New York Times best-selling author, blogs about sex on Thursdays on The Chart. Read more from him on his website, GoodInBed. Gentlemen, lest you were alarmed you might be abnormal for not thinking about sex once every 7 seconds (more than 8,000 times a day), a new study in the Journal of Sex Research arrives to reassure you. Men, on average, think about sex far less than that much-hyped interval. (Where that 7-second stat originated is anybody’s guess – it’s been bandied about for decades and was probably a misquote of the original Alfred Kinsey study on male sexual behavior published in 1948.) That’s why we’re fortunate to have Dr. Terri Fisher and her colleagues at Ohio State University, who recently tracked a group of undergraduates (163 females and 120 males between the ages of 18 and 25) as they used a golf-counter to tally their daily thoughts about eating, sleep or sex over the course of a week. The results: Far from thinking about sex every 7 seconds, men thought about it about 19 times a day on average, whereas women thought about sex 10 times a day on average. The “on average” part is important to note, as there was lots of variability: Male students recorded between 1 and 388 daily thoughts about sex, while women thought about sex between 1 and 140 times per day. Having sexual thoughts is healthier than not having them. “People who tend to have no, or a low amount, of sexual thoughts and complain about it may be depressed, controlling or could be so far removed from the flow of sexual expression in their lives that they may be unintentionally blocking thoughts as they are not sure what to do about them,” says sex educator Amy Levine . And in my experience it’s not true that people who are hard-up for sex (like singles, presumably) often have more sexual thoughts than people who have access to healthy sex on a regular basis (like couples). It’s often the opposite: People who have healthy sex lives are often more “eroticized” overall and generally want more of a good thing, while people who are not having sex sometimes start to care less about it and dismiss sex as a priority. When the latter does think about sex, it may be in a more obsessive way. “Both sexual deprivation and sexual activity can lead to sexual thinking,” argues Dr. Ed Ratush , who specializes in sexual issues. “If someone wants sex but does not have it in their lives, they will think about it, maybe even fixate on it. Conversely, having good sex leads to sexual thoughts because of the actual memory of it, physical and psychological.” One refreshing aspect of this new study is that it normalizes sexual thoughts relative to thoughts about other basic needs such as food and sleep. This shows that the average man is not a slave to his sexual thoughts (thinking about sex over and over and over and over), but rather maintains a healthy balance. The men also thought about food almost 18 times per day and sleep almost 11 times per day, compared to women’s median number of thoughts about eating and sleep – nearly 15 times and about 8.5 times, respectively. But what constitutes a sexual thought? “I think that there are way more sexual thoughts passing through our minds than the ones we zero in on, and then what we are designating as ‘sexual’ matters in this measurement,” says Ratush. “It would be interesting to know if the men were measuring thoughts about intimacy or loving thoughts versus sexually explicit thoughts.” While the median numbers in this study tell us that men and women are more similar than not when it comes to quantity of sexual thoughts, is there a gender difference when it comes to the quality of sexual thoughts? And is there a difference in the way men and women process these thoughts? The study didn’t address the content of thoughts, but in my experience, sexual thoughts in men tend to be more directly wired into the arousal system than in women. For example, a guy has a sexual thought, and almost immediately that thought starts to become an action. Women may have just as many sexual thoughts, but they don’t seem linked to an actual desire for sex in the same way. “Men are like driving standard transmission – if you move through the gears in the right order, you will get where you want to go,” writes Dr. Emily Nagoski, author of “ The Good in Bed Guide to Female Orgasms. ” “Women are like baking a soufflé – the outcome depends on the ingredients and the chef, sure, but it also depends on the reliability of the oven, the altitude, the humidity of the day… more variables, more variability.” Per Nagoski’s metaphor, a sexual thought seems to put the gears into action for men, but for women, a sexual thought is just one ingredient in the soufflé. Yet there are no absolutes – and that conclusion is, perhaps, the real benefit of this study. Not only do the results help men realize that they’re “normal” if they don’t think about sex obsessively, but the findings can also give women some fresh insight into their male companions: In contrast to the stereotype that guys are always raring to go, the study suggests that, like women, men are complex creatures who may be preoccupied with plenty of concerns that have nothing to do with sex. Some guys may even be “soufflés,” too. So how often do you think about sex? Filed under: Ian Kerner Ph.D. – sex counselor , Men’s Health , Sex Tagged: Ian Kerner Ph.D. – sex counselor

MRI machines allow doctors to see inside your body and diagnose what’s wrong with you, but if mistakes are made, they can hurt or even kill you. “If administered properly, it’s one of the safest exams that have ever been invented,” says Tobias Gilk , an MRI safety advocate. But accidents do happen. “Most errors are a combination of human error and bad timing,” says Dr. Emanuel Kanal , a professor of radiology and neuroradiology at the University of Pittsburgh. Faulty training and lax rules about who can be around the machine also contribute. There are four main ways MRI machines can pose dangers. Projectiles: The M in MRI stands for magnetic, and  magnets are very powerful. Gilk’s website, mrimetaldetector.com , shows photos of metal objects, including a bed, a floor polisher and a chair forced against the MRI machine. If someone is being scanned when these devices fly into a machine, they could face serious injuries. A child in New York was killed in 2001 when the MRI machine sucked an oxygen canister into the machine where he was being scanned. “Projectiles usually happen when there are breakdowns in policies and procedures and proper training wasn’t performed,” says Frank Shellock , an adjunct clinical professor of radiology and medicine at the University of Southern California. He points out that MRI magnets don’t just turn on when they are scanning. They are always energized and there is no visual cue the magnetic field is present. Newer MRI machines can be even more powerful. Burns : MRIs use RF transmitters and those can cause heat. “Burns happen, usually because a patient wasn’t prepared properly,” Shellock says. “Usually this is related to misuse of equipment.” “Generally it is supposed to be gentle, like a heat lamp,” says Gilk. “If there are electrical conductors like an EKG lead (on the body) it becomes an antenna and can pick up the RF and concentrate it.” Touching the side walls of the MRI tunnel can also lead to burns, Shellock says. MRI operators should put material between the patient and the wall if there is a risk of the patient coming in contact with it. Some burns have been so severe patients have required skin grafts. Hearing loss: MRI machines can be quite loud. Gilk compares getting a scan to standing near a  jet aircraft. He says patients and anyone else near the machine should be given adequate earplugs or protective earphones. “Scanner technology is improving and machines are getting quieter,” Gilk says, but “anyone in the room could get hearing loss.” Implants and medical devices: People with metal in their bodies, including medical devices like aneurysm clips and pacemakers, can face increased risks. The MRI’s powerful magnetic fields could move the device or cause damage. “Most medical device manufacturer's products made in the last five years will be OK,” says Gilk. But, “if, for example, you had an aneurysm clip that is 15 years old, you should be particularly cautious.” Shellock says he has studied 3,500 implant devices over about the last 25 years and the devices that are labeled as appropriate for use in an MRI should be fine. In addition to the medical metal inside the human body, some patients require external devices to keep them alive or monitor their condition. Those devices need to be specifically designed to function around an MRI. The federal government doesn’t regulate the use of MRIs and state regulations for the machines vary. “Many states have more stringent requirements for hair colorists than who runs an MRI center,” Gilk says. So what can patients do to make sure they are safe when they get an MRI? 1. Fill out MRI questionnaire : “Patients should fill out a screening form and ask the MRI technologist if they have questions,” Shellock says. It’s important that patients go over the questions with the technician to make sure they understand what is being asked. Kanal says honest answers are essential. He gives the example that a patient might not want to reveal they have a wig, but it’s important for the operator to know. Details about any metal that may be in the body, including bullets, medical devices like aneurysm clips, stents or pacemakers should also be shared with the operator. 2. Remove metal: Since magnetic metal poses such a risk in an MRI, it is essential patients and anyone near the MRI remove it. 3. Use hearing protection: Make sure you and anyone else in the room with you are given proper ear protection and make sure it fits. 4. Look for open doors:  MRI facilities should be secure. Gilk says open doors could be a sign the facility isn’t as careful about access as it should be. 5. Look for wires: Make sure there are no unexpected wires or metallic objects like left over EKG sensors on your body. Some devices may be safe for an MRI, but others can be dangerous. 6. Don’t touch the side walls: Coming in contact with the inside of the MRI tube can lead to burns.

Very high amounts of vitamin E– much higher than what's  in multivitamins–may increase a man's risk for prostate cancer, according to a study published Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic created the SELECT trial in 2001 to investigate the protective benefits of both selenium and vitamin E for prostate cancer prevention, but found just the opposite: Vitamin E, specifically, caused a significant increase in prostate cancer risk in the study group, while selenium showed no added risk, but also no benefit. "These were surprising findings in view of all the data that suggested they were beneficial," said Dr. Eric Klein, chairman of Urology at the Cleveland Clinic and the lead author of the study.  And, he said, the numbers were equally surprising. "For every 1,000 men who took a placebo, there were only 65 new cancers," he said. "For every 1,000 men who took vitamin E, 76 got prostate cancer. That's a statistically significant increase." A 17% increase in fact – too high to attribute the additional cases merely to chance, he said. Based on the results of this trial, Klein suggested that men should have a serious conversation with their doctors about whether taking vitamin E supplements is a good idea. "About half the men who are age 60 or older take vitamin E, and about a quarter take vitamin E at the level that was used in [the trial]: 400 international units or more," he said. "In my opinion, there is no compelling evidence that vitamins are beneficial, and there is some evidence that they can be harmful." Klein said many multivitamins contain much smaller amounts of vitamin E – around 15 IU – slightly less than the 22 IU of vitamin E per day recommended by the Institute of Medicine.  The people in the study were getting 18 times what is recommended daily.  Klein said it's unclear what effect vitamin E at low doses may have on prostate cancer risk.