Study
Daily Multivitamins May Slow Biological Aging, Two-Year Trial Suggests
Two-year multivitamin supplementation slowed biological aging measured by DNA methylation clocks.
Summary Can taking a multivitamin every day slow biological aging? Show / hide ↓
Researchers randomly assigned people to take a daily multivitamin or a comparison treatment for two years. The report does not say how many people took part or provide enough details about them. They measured biological age using DNA methylation clocks, which estimate aging from chemical marks on DNA. The multivitamin group showed slower changes on these age estimates. The study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, and the size of the possible benefit was not reported.
What this means for you: This is not enough evidence to buy a multivitamin for a longer life or slower aging. The result is unpublished, the benefit size is unclear, and DNA age estimates are less established than outcomes such as illness or survival.
early evidenceAn analysis led by Mass General Brigham investigators found that daily multivitamin supplementation over two years was associated with slowing of biological aging as measured by DNA methylation age (DNAmAge). This is one of the first long-duration RCTs to use epigenetic clocks as a primary endpoint for a common supplement. The effect size was not specified in the source material. This finding is relevant because multivitamins are the most widely used supplement category, and most prior evidence has been negative or neutral for hard clinical endpoints. The use of biological age as an endpoint is newer and less validated than clinical outcomes. The study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal at time of writing.
Daily multivitamin supplementation may slow biological aging over two years, measured by DNA methylation age.
Reported via press release before peer-reviewed publication. DNAmAge clocks are not validated surrogate endpoints for clinical outcomes.