Older women might want to rethink before drinking that multivitamin pill, as a study by the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed taking multivitamins, folic acid, iron and other supplements increases death risks.

Researchers led by a team from the University of Minnesota found that those who took multivitamins, folic acid, copper, vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium and iron died at higher rates than those who did not take supplements. The survey involved 39,000 women who were studied over 19 years.

Of the 15 supplements analyzed, only calcium was associated with lower risk.

The researchers analyzed data from the Iowa Women's Health Study, a large research effort designed to study factors related to cancer. The women's average age at the start of the study in 1986 was 62 years old. They were asked to fill out health questionnaires, including information about diet and supplement use, several times over the 19-year period.

Supplement use was found to be widespread and growing over the years, the study found out. In 1986, 65% reported taking one supplement daily. By 1997, it went up to 75%; by 2004, to 85%.

Those who took supplements tend to be healthier, with lower rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, and lower body mass index, compared to those who didn't. But with the exception of those who took calcium, they died at slightly higher rates.

However, the research did not explore if supplements were a factor to the causes of the women's death, leading some to question the significance of the findings.

But health practitioners and experts agree that taking supplements is not the cure-all to address nutritional deficiency. There is still no substitution to a good diet combined with exercise and healthy lifestyle habits.

In the U.S., according to the industry group Council for Responsible Nutrition, Americans spend about $27 billion on dietary supplements each year.