Multivitamin May Aid Aging, Study Finds
New research presented at the American Society for Nutrition meeting suggests a daily multivitamin could help older adults maintain functional health, a finding that may influence how seniors approach nutrition.
Study design and main findings
Researchers led by Dr. Yanbin Dong, a cardiologist at Augusta University, analyzed data from more than 16,000 participants aged 60 and older who did not have major cardiovascular disease at the start of the trial. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a daily multivitamin, a cocoa extract supplement, both, or placebos, with separate placebos for each single‑supplement arm.
Over three years, subjects completed an annual questionnaire measuring ability to perform everyday tasks and the presence of heart‑failure‑related symptoms such as fatigue and shortness of breath. The questionnaire scored symptom burden on a 0‑to‑100 scale, where lower scores indicate fewer symptoms.
At the study’s end, those who took the multivitamin showed a modest improvement in symptom burden (average 0.45 points) and in a combined clinical summary score (average 0.30 points). The benefit was most pronounced among participants with carotid stenosis, a narrowing of the arteries that supply the brain. In that subgroup, symptom burden improved by an average of 6.75 points and the clinical summary score rose by 6.01 points.
Context and expert commentary
Dr. Dong noted that multivitamins may address common micronutrient shortfalls and support processes such as energy production, vascular health, and muscle performance. He added that the study’s large sample size and high adherence to the supplement regimen strengthen the findings, though most participants were “very healthy,” limiting conclusions for higher‑risk groups.
Sarah L. Booth, PhD, director of the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, cautioned that previous analyses of the same cohort found no link between multivitamin use and reduced cardiovascular disease or cancer risk. She highlighted that dietary habits vary widely among participants, making it difficult to isolate the effect of added nutrients.
Booth also pointed out that individuals who already follow a nutritious diet may see little benefit from additional supplements, while those with poorer dietary intake could experience more noticeable gains. She recommends that decisions about multivitamin use be made in consultation with a healthcare provider.
The modest gains observed here echo earlier mixed results, where some studies reported slight cognitive improvements while others found no cardiovascular advantage. The variability makes it hard to draw firm conclusions from supplement research alone.
Funding for the trial came from Mars, which supplied the cocoa extract, and from Pfizer and Haleon, which provided the multivitamins. The sponsors did not influence study design, data analysis, or interpretation, according to the investigators.
