An analysis led by Mass General Brigham investigators found slower aging in older adults after two years of a daily multivitamin, with greater benefits for those who began the trial with accelerated biological age.
‘Biological age’, age on a cellular level, can differ from chronological age. Using data from a large randomised clinical trial of older adults, researchers at Mass General Brigham evaluated the effects of taking a daily multivitamin over the course of two years on five measures of biological ageing and found a slowing equivalent to about four months of ageing. The benefits were increased in those who were biologically older than their actual age at the start of the trial. Their results are published in Nature Medicine.
“There is a lot of interest today in identifying ways to not just live longer, but to live better,” said senior author Howard Sesso, ScD, MPH, associate director of the Division of Preventive Medicine in the Mass General Brigham Department of Medicine. “It was exciting to see the benefits of a multivitamin linked with markers of biological ageing. This study opens the door to learning more about accessible, safe interventions that contribute to healthier, higher-quality ageing.”
Epigenetic clocks estimate biological ageing based specific sites in our DNA that regulate gene expression (known as DNA methylation) and change naturally as we get older, helping track mortality and the pace of ageing. This study, which uses data from the well-established COcoa Supplement Multivitamins Outcomes Study (COSMOS), analysed DNA methylation data from blood samples of 958 randomly selected healthy participants with an average chronological age of 70.
The study participants were randomised to take a daily cocoa extract and multivitamin; daily cocoa extract and placebo; placebo and multivitamin; or placebos only. Samples were analysed for changes in five epigenetic clocks from the start of the trial and at the end of the first and second years. Compared to the placebo only group, people in the multivitamin group had slowing in all five epigenetic clocks, including statistically significant slowing seen in the two clocks that are predictive of mortality. The changes equated to about four months less biological ageing over the course of two years. Additionally, people who were biologically older than their actual age at the start of the trial benefited the most.
“We plan to do follow-up research to determine if the slowing of biological ageing – observed through these five epigenetic clocks, and additional or new ones – persists after the trial ends,” said co-author and collaborator Yanbin Dong, MD, PhD, director of Georgia Prention Institute, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta Univeristy.
Further studies are also needed to determine how improvements in biological aging may explain reductions in clinical outcomes. The COSMOS team plans to investigate how the effects of a daily multivitamin on biological aging may extend to different outcomes they have seen evidence of benefits for, such as improvements in cognition and reductions in cancer and cataracts.
“A lot of people take a multivitamin without necessarily knowing any benefits from taking it, so the more we can learn about its potential health benefits, the better,” said Sesso. “Within COSMOS, we are fortunate and excited to build upon a rich resource of biomarker data to test how two interventions may improve biological aging and reduce age-related clinical outcomes.”
Source: Mass General Brigham
