Does Taking Large Amounts of Vitamins Protect Against Cancer? to Study

question 15

Multiple Choice

Does taking large amounts of vitamins protect against cancer? To study this question, researchers enrolled 29,000 Finnish men, all smokers over the age of 50. Half of the men, selected at random, took vitamin supplements, and others took a dummy pill that has no active ingredient. The researchers followed all the men for eight years. At the end of the study, men in the vitamin group were no less likely to have cancer than men in the other group. This study cast doubt on the popular idea that taking lots of vitamins can reduce the risk of cancer.
The study design looked like this:
The label for the dummy pill treatment should appear in the outline at the point marked "Question B." What is this label?

• A) Random allocation
• B) Placebo
• C) Vitamins
• D) Cancer
• E) Finnish men

---

Definitions:

Group Therapy

A form of psychotherapy that involves one or more therapists working with several people at the same time.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

A type of cognitive-behavioral therapy designed to help people understand and change patterns of behavior that are not helpful, originally developed for borderline personality disorder.

Social Skills Training

A therapeutic intervention designed to teach individuals effective communication techniques and strategies to interact appropriately in social settings.

Mindfulness Meditation

A type of meditation in which people are mindful of (just notice) the various thoughts, emotions, sensations, and other private experiences that pass through their minds and bodies.