Multivitamins & Aging: Small Effect on Biological Clock, Study Finds
A daily multivitamin may slightly slow biological aging, according to research examining epigenetic changes, though the effect is modest and appears most pronounced in individuals with faster aging rates, reports Sara Hägg, a docent in molecular epidemiology at the Karolinska Institutet.
The findings stem from a study published in Nature Medicine that tracked 958 people in their 70s over two years. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a daily multivitamin, cocoa extract, or a placebo. Researchers analyzed blood samples to assess changes in epigenetic clocks – chemical alterations in DNA used as indicators of cellular aging.
Hägg, who reviewed the study’s results, explained that the “biological clock seems to have ticked a little slower for those who took the multivitamin.” Although, she emphasized the effect was small, equating to roughly two to four months of slowed aging over the study period. The benefit appeared more significant among participants who initially exhibited a faster biological aging pace than average.
“It’s a well-conducted and interesting study, and one of the few on this topic based on a randomized trial,” Hägg stated. She cautioned that multivitamin supplementation is not a guarantee of extended lifespan.
Hägg suggested that individuals whose biological clocks aged more rapidly may have had underlying nutritional deficiencies that were partially addressed by the multivitamin. “Those who didn’t have deficiencies to begin with didn’t really benefit from the multivitamin tablets,” she said.
The research focused on epigenetic clocks, which measure chemical changes in DNA and are used as a metric for cellular aging. The study compared multiple epigenetic clocks, finding differences in two out of five examined after two years of supplementation.
While the study suggests a potential for multivitamin supplementation to modestly influence certain biological aging processes, Hägg sees no direct link to increased longevity.