A recent study has shed light on the potential benefits of daily multivitamin supplementation for individuals over the age of 60, suggesting that it may help slow down age-related memory decline. This new research adds to the growing body of evidence supporting similar findings from the previous year.
The study involved over 3,500 American adults aged 60 and above who were randomly divided into two groups: one group received a daily multivitamin supplement, while the other group received a placebo. This supplementation or placebo regimen continued for a period of three years.
Throughout the study, participants completed a series of online cognitive assessments designed to evaluate their memory function, specifically focusing on the hippocampus, a region of the brain that tends to be impacted by aging.
Interestingly, at the end of the first year, the group taking the daily multivitamin exhibited improved memory compared to those who received the placebo, and this improvement was sustained over the course of the three-year study.
The research team, comprising experts from Columbia University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard, found these results to be consistent with another recent study conducted at Wake Forest University. In that study, which involved over 2,200 older adults, researchers observed that regular multivitamin intake led to enhanced overall cognition, memory recall, and attention.
The earlier investigation further revealed that a three-year multivitamin supplementation regimen corresponded to a remarkable 60% decrease in cognitive decline. This decline reduction was estimated to be equivalent to maintaining approximately 1.8 years of normal mental capacity.
Overall, these findings highlight the potential benefits of incorporating a daily multivitamin supplement into the routine of individuals over 60, as it may contribute to the preservation of cognitive function and mitigate age-related memory decline. However, further research is warranted to validate and expand upon these promising results, paving the way for improved strategies to support healthy aging and mental well-being in older adults.
“Because of our innovative approach of assessing cognitive outcomes using internet-based tests, we were able to examine the effects of a multivitamin in thousands of study participants,” Professor Adam Brickman said. He is from Columbia University.
“The aging brain may be more sensitive to nutrition than we realized,” first author Dr. Lok-Kin Yeung also said. Like Professor Brickman, he is also from Columbia.
“Our study suggests that supplementation with multivitamins may be a simple and inexpensive way for older adults to slow down memory loss.”
Co-author Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, stated, “The finding that a daily multivitamin improved memory in two separate cognition studies…is remarkable.”
According to the results published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, participants with pre-existing heart disease experienced an even more notable impact.
“There is evidence that people with cardiovascular disease may have lower micronutrient levels that multivitamins may correct, but we don’t really know right now why the effect is stronger in this group.”
The group of researchers, who received partial funding from the National Institutes of Health, conducted a study focused on memory improvement but did not investigate the potential association between any specific element present in the multivitamin supplement and the observed cognitive enhancements.
“Though it may not be so important to find out which specific nutrient helps slow age-related cognitive decline,” Yeung shared.
“The findings are promising and certainly set the stage for important follow-up studies about the impact of multivitamin supplementation on cognition,” Brickman said as a conclusion. He wants to remind everyone about getting nutrients from your food, which is always the better option.
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