Maintaining functional health in old age requires a multilayered approach, involving physical activity, cognitive engagement, and proper diet. When it comes to nutrition, a new study suggests that a daily multivitamin may help.
Initial results presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition (but not yet published in a medical journal) indicate that older adults who took a daily multivitamin had significantly better measures of functional health after three years than those who took a placebo.
“The findings show that a daily multivitamin may be a simple, low-risk strategy to help older adults maintain cardiovascular-related functional health and quality of life,” says the research author Yanbin Dong, MD, PhD, a cardiologist and the director of the Georgia Prevention Institute of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.
Vitamin Takers Had Better Physical Ability
Dr. Dong and his collaborators reviewed data from more than 16,000 individuals ages 60 and older without major cardiovascular disease at the study’s start. Participants were randomly assigned to take a daily multivitamin, a cocoa extract supplement, both, or neither, with placebos used for the control group and for those taking only one supplement.
After three years, scientists found that multivitamins improved symptom burden by an average of 0.45 points and a person’s clinical summary score (an average of symptom burden and physical ability scores) by 0.30 points, according to Dong.
A Notable Benefit for Those With Narrowing Arteries
Among participants with carotid stenosis (narrowing of the main blood vessels in the neck that carry blood to the brain), the positive effects of multivitamins were most striking, according to Dong. These patients saw their symptom burden improve by an average of 6.75 points and their clinical summary score improve by 6.01 points.
“This means those who had a history of carotid stenosis and took multivitamin minerals will have a small clinical benefit of improving cardiovascular and functional health over time,” he says.
Dong notes that multivitamins may help the body by correcting common micronutrient insufficiencies and supporting energy production, cell function, vascular health, inflammation control, and muscle performance.
Although details of the complete study are limited so far, the authors also pointed out that cocoa extract did not significantly change functional health scores in the overall population. It did, however, provide a significant benefit in the patients who developed congestive heart failure.
Previous findings have suggested that anti-inflammatory compounds in cocoa extract supplements may have a heart-protective effect.
Multivitamin Study Results Have Been Mixed
Research findings so far regarding the benefits of multivitamins have been conflicting, says Sarah L. Booth, PhD, the director of the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and the senior scientist at the Diet & Aging Brain Sensory Systems directive.
Some prior analysis of data from the same participant group used in this current study found that daily use of multivitamins or cocoa extract was not associated with any benefit in overall cardiovascular disease or cancer prevention.
On the other hand, some scientific investigation has shown that multivitamins may provide a modest but statistically significant cognitive boost.
Dr. Booth, who was not involved in the research, adds that a more conclusive interpretation of these latest findings will not be possible until the full paper becomes available.
Furthermore, she indicates that findings related to multivitamins in general can be difficult to decipher because participants’ diets vary.
“Individuals still consume their usual food during these studies, so the multivitamins are adding more nutrients into the diet above and beyond the usual nutrient intake,” she says. “If the participants are already consuming a healthy diet, then adding more nutrients is unlikely to improve that individual’s health trajectory. Those who routinely take multivitamins tend to be individuals with healthier diets, which sometimes contributes to mixed results we see in the randomized clinical trials.”
More needs to be known about participants’ eating habits to understand the effects of taking nutritional supplements, Booth suggests.
In considering the strengths of this study, the authors highlight the large participant population and the high adherence to taking multivitamins over the course of several years. With respect to limitations, most of the patients were “very healthy,” according to Dong. Effects on those more at risk of heart problems are based on more minimal evidence.
The scientists mention that Mars (a leading manufacturer of chocolate) supported the cocoa extract component of the research, and Pfizer and Haleon (a British healthcare company) provided the multivitamins, but sponsors had no role in the study design, analysis, or interpretation.
Can Multivitamins Fill a Nutrition Gap?
Booth stresses that good nutrition for any person begins with healthy foods. Still, some people, for one reason or another, may not be able to achieve a healthy diet, and for them, a multivitamin may be the answer.
Still, “Because dietary supplements are available over the counter, many individuals self-diagnose as having nutrient deficits,” she says. “Decisions to take multivitamins ideally should be in consultation with one’s health provider.”
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