A new study suggests that a daily multivitamin could improve memory in older adults.
Millions of people take a multivitamin every day. Some believe that it is a kind of insurance in case your diet is missing some essential nutrient. Others believe it will ward off disease by boosting immunity, improving brain health, or regulating metabolism. It’s easy to see where these ideas come from: Ads tout a wide range of health benefits, yet most offer little or no evidence to support the claims.
But research on the health benefits of multivitamins it’s mixed at best. This year, for example, the US Preventive Services Task Force, a leading authority on preventive health care, reviewed 90 of the best available studies on supplements and vitamins, concluding that the products did not protect healthy adults lacking nutritional deficits against cardiovascular disease, cancer, or death from all causes.
Could research on different dosages, supplement combinations, or populations lead to a different conclusion? Well yes, in fact, that may already have happened, according to a new study that focused on memory and brain function.
Can a daily multivitamin improve brain function in older adults?
Our current options for improving brain health are limited. For example, regular exercise, optimal weight, and a heart-healthy diet can improve cardiovascular health and reduce the chances of certain types of dementia, such as dementia due to stroke. Beyond these common-sense measures, there are no drugs, supplements, or treatments available that reliably improve long-term brain function, despite advertisements to the contrary.
That’s why researchers continue to explore whether certain foods or supplements might be effective. In a recent study published in Alzheimer’s and dementia, more than 2,200 volunteers aged 65 and older were randomly assigned to receive cocoa or a placebo, a multivitamin or a placebo, or cocoa and a multivitamin for three years. The multivitamin chosen for this study was silver centerIt contains 27 vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in various amounts.
When tests of cognition were analyzed at the end of the trial, those given cocoa showed no improvement. But those assigned to take a multivitamin had improved scores on tests of
- general brain function (especially in people with cardiovascular disease)
- memory
- executive function (tasks such as planning ahead or remembering instructions).
Based on these findings, the researchers estimated that three years of multivitamin use could slow the age-related decline in brain function by up to 60%.
Notably, the study participants were predominantly white (89%), had an average age of 73, and more than half were women (60%). They were followed for only three years. However, it was a randomized, double-blind trial, which is considered the most powerful study design.
Should we all be taking multivitamins?
This study alone is not enough to suggest routine use of multivitamins for people of all ages. It may turn out that the benefits for older adults seen in this study are due to deficiencies in certain nutrients among some of the study participants. We don’t know if this is true because it wasn’t part of the study.
Or we might learn that the benefits reported here are too small to make a big difference in real life, or diminish over time, or have no effect in preventing common types of dementia. And it’s hard to ignore an earlier randomized placebo-controlled trial that was actually larger and longer-term: It found no improvement in brain function among male doctors age 65 and older who took multivitamins.
But it does mean that more study is warranted. We need to understand who is most likely to benefit from multivitamin use, what dosage is optimal, and which parts of the multivitamin are most important. We also need trials that are larger, last longer, and include a more diverse group of participants. And certainly, there is a difference between improving cognitive function and preventing dementia. We still need to know if conditions like Alzheimer’s can be prevented through the use of multivitamins or other supplements.
The bottom line
Claims that certain supplements can improve brain health are everywhere. But solid scientific evidence supporting those claims is much rarer. That’s one of the reasons this new study is important: If confirmed, it means that a safe, widely available and affordable vitamin supplement could improve the quality of life for many millions of older people.
In the past, claims made by manufacturers of various supplements and vitamins have been far ahead of science. Studies like this should help science catch up and determine which claims are valid.
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