A new study shows that taking a daily multivitamin could help turn back the cognitive aging clock by over three years. A new study reports that age-related memory loss may be improved, at least in the short term, by taking a daily multivitamin. The researchers found that one year of multivitamins produced a similar effect to turning back the cognitive aging clock by over three years and that this effect persisted for the length of the study. Subjects with cardiovascular disease who took multivitamins experienced the greatest improvement in memory. It remains unclear which vitamins in the multivitamins helped strengthen memory, suggesting a need for further research.
Research from Columbia University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard
For older adults, taking a daily multivitamin may improve memory and help slow age-related cognitive decline, according to new research from Columbia University in New York and Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard in Boston, MA. The three-year study found that modest improvements in cognitive function remained for the duration of the research. The study was published May 24 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The COSMOS-Web Study
The new study is a second, parallel trial accompanying the recently completed COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study Web, or COSMOS-Web study. Its larger aim was to investigate the beneficial memory effects of multivitamins and cocoa flavanols. But the current study reports only the effects of taking multivitamins.
Study Design and Results
For the study, 3,562 older adults were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first took a daily multivitamin — Centrum Silver for adults — over the course of the three-year study. The second group took a placebo. Each year, participant memories were assessed via online neuropsychological tests. The researchers were primarily interested in measuring the strength of individuals’ episodic memory, or immediate recall. After 1 year of taking multivitamins, study participants experienced a modest improvement in memory that was the equivalent of turning back the clock by about 3.1 years compared to a control group.
Significant Improvement in People with Cardiovascular Disease
The authors of the study found the most significant memory improvement occurred in people with underlying cardiovascular disease. The reason for this isn’t clear, though the researchers suspect it may have to do with a pre-existing nutrient deficit.
Multivitamins and Cognitive Tasks
As a secondary goal, the researchers also searched for changes in episodic memory over the study period, and participants’ performance of novel object recognition and executive function. However, they found multivitamins had no effect on these particular neuropsychological tasks.
Expert Opinions and Future Research
Study co-author Dr. JoAnn Manson, MPH, epidemiology professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Medical News Today:
“Preserving memory and cognitive health is a high priority for most midlife and older adults. Few previous strategies have been rigorously tested in randomized clinical trials and shown to have cognitive benefits.”
Dr. Manson explained that the results of the study are particularly persuasive in that they represent the concurrent findings from two separate trials at once. Both trials found that multivitamins slowed down cognitive decline in the short, three-year term.
The Role of Multivitamins in Memory Improvement
How do multivitamins improve memory? The study does not explore exactly which vitamins within the multivitamin played a role in supporting memory.
“Multivitamins contain more than 20 essential vitamins and minerals, and the specific micronutrient conferring cognitive benefits cannot be determined when a combination tablet is administered,”
Dr. Manson explained.
Potential Mechanisms and Future Directions
Dr. Pase noted that if one person is low on one vitamin, and another person lacks another vitamin, a multivitamin could help them both. As for what it is about multivitamins that helped the study participants, Dr. Testai suggested a few possibilities.
“The deficiency of several vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, vitamin D, zinc, and iron, has been associated with cognitive decline,” he said, adding that research has shown that vitamin E may have neuroprotective properties.
Recommendations and Cautions
Dr. Manson said that a daily multivitamin may be a good idea based on the COSMOS-Web studies.
“Our findings suggest that multivitamin supplementation holds promise as a safe, accessible, and affordable approach to protecting cognitive health in older adults,” Dr. Manson noted.
“A standard daily multivitamin for adults, providing the daily intake values for essential vitamins and minerals, should show similar results,” she added.
Dr. Pace said the study was valuable but he would not recommend multivitamins for slowing cognitive decline. He noted that their benefit in the study was limited to just one cognitive area, and that he would prefer to see the results of longer studies and “improvements on a greater range of cognitive tasks.”
Final Thoughts
“Multivitamins (and other dietary supplements) shouldn’t be perceived as a substitute for a healthy diet or healthy lifestyle, even if used as a complementary approach,” Dr. Manson concluded.
– Robby Berman
