- In a
new study, researchers say daily multivitamins appear to slow cognitive
aging and improve memory in older adults.
- Experts
explain that daily vitamins can improve a person’s overall health and gut
microbiome, which can lead to better cognitive skills.
- They
add that more research is needed to confirm these findings and to
determine which specific vitamins are most effective.
Taking a multivitamin
daily seems to improve both memory and overall cognition in older adults,
according to a study published
today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The research, which was
funded in part by the food and supplements manufacturer Mars Inc., was led
by Chirag Vyas, an
instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.
In it, researchers
analyzed data on 573 individuals who were part of a larger study called the
COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS)
and also were involvded in an in-clinic study of possible links between
multivitamin supplements and cognitive benefits.
The researchers reported
that people who took multivitamins experienced a modest benefit in global
cognition over a two-year period compared to a control group that was given a
placebo.
The vitamin group also
saw significant improvement in episodic memory but not in executive function
and attention, the researchers said.
Details
from the vitamins and cognitive abilities study
Vyas and his colleagues
also conducted a meta-analysis of three related studies drawn from COSMOS: the
new in-clinic study and two previous studies that used telephone and
online-based cognitive assessments.
The analysis showed
“strong evidence” of benefits for both global cognition and episodic memory,
according to the study authors, who estimated that daily multivitamin use
slowed global cognitive aging by the equivalent of two years compared to a
placebo.
“Cognitive decline is
among the top health concerns for most older adults and a daily supplement of
multivitamins has the potential as an appealing and accessible approach to slow
cognitive aging,” said Vyas in a press statement. “The meta-analysis of three
separate cognition studies provides strong and consistent evidence that taking
a daily multivitamin, containing more than 20 essential micronutrients, helps
prevent memory loss and slow down cognitive aging.”
Reaction to
the vitamins and cognitive health study
“With these three
studies using different approaches for assessing cognition in COSMOS, each
providing support for a daily multivitamin, it is now critical to understand
the mechanisms by which a daily multivitamin may protect against memory loss
and cognitive decline with a focus on nutritional status and other
aging-related factors,” said Howard Sesso, ScD, an associate
epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts and a co-leader
of the broader COSMOS study. “For example, the modifying role of baseline
nutritional status on protecting against cognitive decline has been shown for
the COSMOS cocoa extract intervention. A typical multivitamin such as that
tested in COSMOS contains many essential vitamins and minerals that could
explain its potential benefits.”
Kelsey
Costa, a registered dietitian nutritionist who was not involved in
the study, told Medical News Today that “the enhancement of
memory related to multivitamin consumption could stem from resolving an
existing nutrient deficiency.”
“The lack of essential
nutrients in older adults may increase their risk of cognitive decline,
including memory loss. Vitamins are crucial for various cognitive functions,
including memory creation and preservation,” she added.
Dr. Jonathan Rasouli,
a neurosurgeon at Staten Island University Hospital in New York who was not
involved in the study, also saw some connection between vitamins and cognitive
health.
“In general, we know
there is a link between nutrition and cognitive health; both linked through the
health of gut bacteria,” he told Medical News Today. “In theory,
healthy diets lead to better gut bacteria, which in turn leads to improved
cognitive health. The opposite is likely true for people with poor diets.
Although we need more research to definitively prove this link, the old adage ‘you
are what you eat’ is powerful advice.”
In terms of brain
processes, “vitamins play a crucial role in supporting cognitive health through
their involvement in various biological pathways,” Vyas told Medical
News Today. “Some of the essential processes include the maintenance of
neuronal membranes, regulation of neurotransmitter release, and protection
against oxidative stress.”
Which
vitamins work remains a mystery
However, Vyas said,
researchers were unable to pinpoint which specific vitamins in the daily
supplements had a positive effect on brain health, indicating that further
research is needed.
Dr. Yuko Hara, the director of Aging and
Alzheimer’s Prevention at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation who was not
involved in the study, told Medical News Today that past studies have shown that adhering
to a Mediterranean-style diet is associated with better memory, larger volumes
of brain regions important for memory functions (e.g., the hippocampus), and
lower levels of biological markers of Alzheimer’s disease.
“In general, clinical
trials of individual vitamins, like vitamin C, E, have not been successful in
slowing cognitive decline or improving cognitive function,” Hara said. “The
vitamins that play the greatest role in cognitive health may be different
across people and may depend on which vitamins you are deficient in. For many
people, supplementing vitamins when they already have adequate levels from
their diet is unlikely to be beneficial and may be harmful when taken in
excess.”
“There are now positive,
large-scale, long-term studies that show that multivitamin-mineral
supplementation for older adults may slow cognitive aging,” added Claire Sexton, DPhil,
the senior director of scientific programs and outreach for the Alzheimer’s
Association who was not involved in the study. “While there are multiple
biological pathways that may link multivitamin supplementation to cognition,
this study does not provide additional data on such mechanisms.”
More
research needed on vitamins’ benefits
Sexton told Medical
News Today that more research is needed before the Alzheimer’s
Association is ready to recommend widespread use of a multivitamin supplement
to reduce the risk of cognitive decline in older adults.
“Independent confirmatory
studies are needed in larger, more diverse and representative study
populations,” she said.
She noted that the
COSMOS clinic study had less than 2% non-white participants in the multivitamin
group and 5% non-white participants in the placebo group.
Nonetheless, Vyas said
that “apart from the three COSMOS cognitive studies (COSMOS-Clinic,
COSMOS-Mind, and COSMOS-Web), no other studies in the existing literature had
all these elements: conducted cognitive assessments at the time of study
enrollment and during the treatment follow-up; tested a comprehensive
multivitamin-mineral supplement containing at least 20 essential vitamins and
minerals; assessed interventions lasting 12 months or more; and included a
sufficiently large number of participants [at least 500].”
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