The Alzheimer’s Association predicts that nearly one in four Americans will be at a higher risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease by 2060.
But recent findings from the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) offer a glimmer of hope.
Published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, this study, directed by Mass General Brigham researchers, rigorously tests the impact of cocoa extract and multivitamin supplements on cognitive function.
Building on two previous studies that suggested a positive effect of daily multivitamins on cognition, COSMOS researchers have now presented results from a third study.
This study focused on participants who underwent detailed in-person cognitive assessments, along with a combined analysis of all three studies.
The key takeaway from the latest report is the confirmation of consistent and statistically significant benefits of daily multivitamin supplementation versus a placebo for memory and global cognition.
Chirag Vyas, MBBS, MPH, the first author, emphasized the potential of a daily multivitamin as a simple and accessible means to slow cognitive aging.
The study involved detailed in-person assessments of 573 participants in the COSMOS-Clinic subset, adding to the earlier telephone-based and online web-based assessments.
The findings from COSMOS-Clinic indicated a modest benefit for multivitamin use in global cognition over two years. Specifically, a significant advantage was noted in episodic memory, although no notable effect was observed in executive function/attention.
A meta-analysis encompassing the three separate studies, with non-overlapping participants, further strengthened the evidence of multivitamin benefits for both global cognition and episodic memory.
The authors estimate that the daily multivitamin use corresponded to slowing global cognitive aging by about two years compared to the placebo.
The team highlighted the importance of these findings for older adults seeking ways to preserve brain health. They also noted the promising nature of multivitamins as an affordable approach to protect cognitive health.
The overall COSMOS trial, involving more than 5,000 participants across the U.S. aged 60 and older, represents a collaboration between leading institutions, utilizing both traditional and innovative methods to assess cognitive outcomes.
The team emphasized the urgency of understanding the mechanisms behind the protective effects of multivitamins against cognitive decline. This includes exploring the role of baseline nutritional status and other aging-related factors.
This groundbreaking research offers a new perspective on the role of daily multivitamin supplementation in combating cognitive decline and underlines the importance of further research to explore its full potential.Top of FormBottom of Form
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The research findings can be found in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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