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A total of 3,318 men and women from a region in rural China were randomized to receive daily either a multiple vitamin/mineral supplement or a placebo. Deaths that occurred in the participants were ascertained and classified according to cause over the 6-year period from 1985 to 1991. At the end of supplementation, blood pressure readings were taken, and the prevalence of hypertension was determined. There was a slight reduction in overall mortality in the supplement group (relative risk (RR) = 0.93, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 0.75–1.16), with the decreased relative risk most pronounced for cerebrovascular disease deaths (RR = 0.63, 95% Cl 0.37–1.07). This benefit was greater for men (RR = 0.42, 95% Cl 0.19–0.93) than for women (RR = 0.93, 95% Cl 0.44–1.98). Among the survivors, the presence of elevations in both systolic and diastolic blood pressures was less common in those who received the supplement (RR for men = 0.43, 95% Cl 0.28–0.65; RR for women = 0.92, 95% Cl 0.68–1.24). This study indicates that supplementation with a multivitamin/mineral combination may have reduced mortality from cerebrovascular disease and the prevalence of hypertension in this rural population with a micronutrient-poor diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]