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MEDTECH Unveiling the Cognitive Potential of Multivitamin Supplementation in Older Adults
A recent study has unearthed new insights into the effects of multivitamin supplementation on memory performance in older adults, bringing implications for medical professionals and their approach towards cognitive health in their aging patients.
Key Points:
- The study conducted on 3,562 older adults demonstrated a marked improvement in memory performance in participants who consumed Centrum Silver, a multivitamin supplement.
- Improvement was equated to 3.1 years of age-related memory change.
- Participants with a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) who consumed multivitamins exhibited higher immediate memory recall scores than the placebo group.
- The effect of multivitamin supplementation was seen to persist, on average, over at least the three years of follow-up.
- Multivitamin supplementation did not significantly influence memory retention, executive function, or novel object recognition.
Additional Points:
- The study, COSMOS-Web, is an ancillary study to the COSMOS trial, which assessed multivitamin effects versus placebo in 21,442 older adults.
- The ModRey test, a hippocampus-focused episodic memory test, was used as a primary outcome measure.
- Concerns regarding psychometric properties of the ModBent test, an object recognition task, led researchers to relegate it to a secondary outcome.
- The Color/Directional Flanker test was used to assess the effect of conflicting information within a stimulus set.
“We can only speculate at this time. Older adults with cardiovascular risk factors tend to have lower vitamin and mineral circulating levels. Supplementation with multivitamins may help restore these deficiencies, providing [a] secondary benefit to cognitive health.”
Adam M. Brickman, PhD, Professor of Neuropsychology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
