Multivitamins May Slow Biological Aging

A recent study suggests that daily multivitamin-mineral supplements could slightly slow the biological aging process in older adults, though the effect size is modest and requires further investigation. As part of the COSMOS trial, researchers analyzed data from 958 participants over two years using advanced “epigenetic clocks”—DNA methylation measures that estimate biological age. The results showed a clear divergence between the two supplements tested. Compared with placebo, those taking a daily multivitamin (Centrum Silver) showed a modest but statistically significant reduction in aging rate on two second-generation clocks: PCGrimAge slowed by 0.113 years per year and PCPhenoAge slowed by 0.214 years per year . A critical interaction effect emerged based on baseline aging speed: the benefit on PCGrimAge was substantially stronger among participants already experiencing accelerated biological aging, with a slowing of 0.236 years per year , compared to -0.013 years in those with normal or decelerated aging. In contrast, cocoa extract supplements containing 500 mg of flavanols showed no statistically significant effect on any of the five epigenetic clocks tested, including the newer DunedinPACE measure. While the findings for multivitamins are promising, these small epigenetic changes need further study to determine whether they translate into meaningful reductions in age-related chronic conditions. Source: https://www.nature.com