MSGID: 1:317/3 646ee4bf   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Multivitamin improves memory in older adults, study finds    
      
     Date:   
         May 24, 2023   
     Source:   
         Columbia University Irving Medical Center   
     Summary:   
         Taking a daily multivitamin may help slow age-related memory   
         decline, a new study has found.   
      
      
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   Taking a daily multivitamin supplement can slow age-related memory   
   decline, finds a large study led by researchers at Columbia University   
   and Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard.   
      
   "Cognitive aging is a top health concern for older adults, and this   
   study suggests that there may be a simple, inexpensive way to help older   
   adults slow down memory decline," says study leader Adam M. Brickman,   
   PhD, professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University Vagelos College   
   of Physicians and Surgeons.   
      
   Many older people take vitamins or dietary supplements under the   
   assumption that they will help maintain general health. But studies   
   that have tested whether they improve memory and brain function have   
   been mixed, and very few large-scale, randomized trials have been done.   
      
   Study methods In the current study, more than 3,500 adults (mostly   
   non-Hispanic white) over age 60 were randomly assigned to take a daily   
   multivitamin supplement or placebo for three years. At the end of each   
   year, participants performed a series of online cognitive assessments   
   at home designed to test memory function of the hippocampus, an area of   
   the brain that is affected by normal aging. The COSMOS-Web study is part   
   of a large clinical trial led by Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard   
   called the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS).   
      
   By the end of the first year, memory improved for people taking a daily   
   multivitamin, compared with those taking a placebo. The researchers   
   estimate the improvement, which was sustained over the three-year   
   study period, was equivalent to about three years of age-related memory   
   decline. The effect was more pronounced in participants with underlying   
   cardiovascular disease.   
      
   The results of the new study are consistent with another recent COSMOS   
   study of more than 2,200 older adults that found that taking a daily   
   multivitamin improved overall cognition, memory recall, and attention,   
   effects that were also more pronounced in those with underlying   
   cardiovascular disease.   
      
   "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," says Brickman.   
      
   Good nutrition important for aging brain Though the researchers did not   
   look at whether any specific component of the multivitamin supplement was   
   linked to the improvement in memory, the findings support growing evidence   
   that nutrition is important for optimizing brain health as we age.   
      
   "Our study shows that the aging brain may be more sensitive to nutrition   
   than we realized, though it may not be so important to find out which   
   specific nutrient helps slow age-related cognitive decline," says Lok-Kin   
   Yeung, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Columbia's Taub Institute for   
   Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain and first author of   
   the study.   
      
   "The finding that a daily multivitamin improved memory in two separate   
   cognition studies in the COSMOS randomized trial is remarkable, suggesting   
   that multivitamin supplementation holds promise as a safe, accessible,   
   and affordable approach to protecting cognitive health in older adults,"   
   says co- author JoAnn Manson, MD, chief of the Division of Preventive   
   Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital.   
      
   "Supplementation of any kind shouldn't take the place of more holistic   
   ways of getting the same micronutrients," adds Brickman. "Though   
   multivitamins are generally safe, people should always consult a physician   
   before taking them."  More information The study, titled "Multivitamin   
   supplementation improves memory in older adults: A randomized clinical   
   trial," was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.   
      
   All authors: Lok-Kin Yeung (Columbia), Daniel M. Alschuler (New York State   
   Psychiatric Institute), Melanie Wall (Columbia), Heike Luttman-Gibson   
   (Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard), Trisha Copeland (Brigham and   
   Women's/Harvard), Richard P. Sloan (Columbia), Howard D. Sesso (Brigham   
   and Women's/Harvard), JoAnn E. Manson (Brigham and Women's/Harvard),   
   and Adam M. Brickman (Columbia).   
      
   Dr. Manson and Dr. Sesso are co-leaders of the parent COSMOS trial.   
      
   The study was supported by grants from Mars Edge, a segment of Mars Inc.,   
   and the National Institutes of Health (AG050657, AG071611, EY025623,   
   and HL157665).   
      
   Multivitamins were supplied by Pfizer. Dr. Sesso reported receiving   
   investigator-initiated grants from Pure Encapsulations and Pfizer and/or   
   travel funds for lectures from the Council for Responsible Nutrition,   
   BASF, NIH, and the American Society of Nutrition during the study.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Healthy_Aging # Menopause # Alzheimer's_Research #   
                   Teen_Health   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Dementia # Memory # Intelligence # Mental_Health   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Ginkgo o Dementia o Memory o Psychology o Alzheimer's_disease   
             o Memory-prediction_framework o Chimpanzee o Memory_bias   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Columbia_University_Irving_Medical_Center. Note: Content may be edited   
   for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Lok-Kin Yeung, Daniel M. Alschuler, Melanie Wall, Heike   
      Luttmann-Gibson,   
         Trisha Copeland, Christiane Hale, Richard P. Sloan, Howard   
         D. Sesso, JoAnn E. Manson, Adam M. Brickman. Multivitamin   
         supplementation improves memory in older adults: a randomized   
         clinical trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2023;   
         DOI: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.05.011   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230524181916.htm   
      
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