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The first comprehensive research on the growing IV hydration industry finds little oversight of invasive procedures like vitamin drips.

The booming IV hydration spa industry operates with virtually no oversight or data backing up its claims, according to the first comprehensive national analysis of hydration clinics. 

At clinics nationwide, people pay hundreds of dollars to have vitamins and minerals dripped directly into their veins as a detox, to ease headaches or boost immunity, "almost completely without evidence," said Dr. Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and co-author of the study, published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. "As a result, there's a real danger to consumers."

Hydration clinics, combined with the growing number of med spas offering intravenous vitamin drips, skin care and cosmetic procedures, have ballooned into a $15 billion wellness industry in recent years, according to the American Med Spa Association.