New Study Examines the Impact of Multivitamins on Memory Function

New research that examined the impact of multivitamins on memory suggested that they may help reduce age-related memory deterioration in certain people.

According to Adam Brickman, the study's principal researcher and Columbia University professor of neuropsychology, it provides vital insights into vitamin benefits.

He said the study suggested that taking multivitamins may have potential benefits. However, further investigation is needed to determine which specific nutrients are behind the effect.

In the study conducted by Columbia University in New York and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, the well-being of over 3,500 people aged 60 and above was tracked for three years, per AP News.

Participants were randomly assigned to take either a daily multivitamin or a placebo. Their memory was assessed yearly utilizing online memory tests.

They were presented with a series of 20 words, displayed individually for three seconds each, as part of a test. Then, immediately after the test and after a 15-minute break, participants had to recollect as many words as they could. This test assessed the hippocampus, the brain area facilitating learning and memory.

Researchers found that individuals who took daily multivitamins for a year showed improved memory function. While the placebo group improved from 7.21 words to 7.65 words, the group progressed from 7.10 words to 7.81 words. They assessed that this difference was comparable to three years of typical age-related memory improvement. Heart disease patients showed more improvement.

Brickman noted that multivitamin micronutrients could boost hippocampus function, as shown in the research team's previous large-scale study, which similarly showed memory enhancement in older persons taking multivitamins every day.

Mars Edge, which provided the cognitive assessment equipment, and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (now Haleon), the maker of Centrum Silver, funded the research. Both companies did not gather or analyze data, preserving the study's neutrality, according to Time.

Balanced Diet, Healthy Lifestyle are Still Better

These discoveries are significant because the brain, like other organs, needs sufficient nutrition. Nutrient deficiency can negatively impact memory.

Boston University neurology professor Andrew Budson called the findings innovative and relevant to cognitive behavioral neurology, per The Washington Post.

Although encouraging, scientists advise against depending entirely on multivitamins for cognitive health in older adults. They warn against replacing a balanced diet and lifestyle with supplements.

Dr. JoAnn Manson, professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and one of the study's principal researchers, says multivitamins may be a supplement for middle-aged and older persons with nutrient absorption difficulties or poor diets.