Can multivitamins improve mood and reduce stress in older adults?

Supplementation did not affect overall wellbeing, but did lead to increased feelings of friendliness in women and reduced stress reactivity and emotional loneliness in men.

Study: Improvements to mood, stress and loneliness following 12-week multivitamin supplementation in older adults: a randomised, placebo-controlled, trial. Image Credit: sasirin pamai / Shutterstock.com

In a recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers investigate the potential of multivitamin-mineral (MVM) supplements to improve daily functioning among older adults.

The health benefits of supplements

Minerals and vitamins are essential for numerous physiological processes, including enzyme activity, synthesis of neurotransmitters, brain function, and cell function.

Researchers are continuing to explore the role of MVM supplements to improve psychological functioning, which may reduce anxiety and stress. Women may benefit from greater improvements in stress and tiredness as they experience different nutrient absorption rates and nutritional needs.

Supplements could also improve cognitive performance in older and young adults, with greater benefits observed in older adults with nutritional deficiencies. However, the broader effects of MVM supplementation on daily functioning remain unclear, as previous studies have often included only healthier and better-nourished participants.

Traditional cognitive tests, which are often used in studies, may not be reflective of what is required for everyday functioning in older people, who often rely on social, personality, cognitive, and sensorimotor skills that weaken with age and cause increased dependence.

About the study

In the current double-blind, placebo-controlled, and randomized study, researchers assessed the effects of MVM supplementation over 12 weeks on relevant everyday outcomes among adults over 70 years of age.

The primary focus of the study was subjective well-being, with all outcomes assessed separately for female and male participants to quantify sex-based differences. The current study was also designed to be more inclusive, thereby ensuring that the findings are more representative of older people than previous studies.

Individuals who were not currently taking certain supplements were recruited across the United Kingdom, primarily through social media. Exclusion criteria included medical conditions like thyroid disorders or epilepsy and allergies to soya. Individuals who were already taking MVM supplements underwent a four-week ‘washout’ period.

The final recruited sample comprised 124 female and 124 male participants who took one MVM or placebo tablet every day for 12 weeks. Placebo and MVM tablets were designed to be identical in smell and overall appearance. However, MVM tablets given to male and female participants were slightly different in their ingredient composition.

Study participants completed online questionnaires on loneliness, social interaction, activity, physical health, memory, mood, and well-being. Statistical models with separate analyses for female and male participants were applied to examine the effect of MVM supplements, as well as the impact of diet quality on outcomes.

Study findings

All 124 female participants completed the study, whereas only 104 male participants completed the study. Compliance levels were high, with over 99% of tablets consumed across both groups.

The blinding was also successful, with most participants across both groups believing that they had received the placebo. The MVM-supplemented and placebo groups were also similar in terms of body mass index (BMI), caffeine and alcohol intake, education, and age.

Men reported lower consumption of vegetables and fruit, as well as higher alcohol intake, than women. Furthermore, men receiving MVM supplementation consumed less fruit and manganese than those in the placebo group at the start of the study.

Among women, supplementation with MVM led to significantly higher scores for friendliness than the placebo group. MVM supplements also reduce stress and emotional loneliness.

Conclusions

The study findings highlight differences between females and males when provided MVM supplementation, with improved loneliness and stress responses observed among men and friendliness for women. These observations align with previous studies demonstrating mood benefits of supplementation.

Women could be more sensitive to improvements in mood, as they are often at an increased risk of depression and lower well-being scores. For men, stress is associated with loneliness and poorer health outcomes. The effects of MVM supplementation on male participants could be due to their greater nutrient deficiencies at baseline, as indicated by their lower intake of fruit and vegetables and higher alcohol consumption.

MVM supplementation did not have an effect on wellbeing, which was the primary study outcome. Likewise, several other outcomes were not impacted by MVM supplementation, which could be due to poor bioavailability and absorption of nutrients among older people or the relatively short intervention period of 12 weeks.

Despite attempts to overcome a bias related to having healthier participants than the national average, many of the study participants consumed greater than the recommended daily allowance for most nutrients. Thus, future research should focus on longer study durations while also targeting older populations with nutrient deficiencies to establish the benefits of supplementation.