Scientists say a daily multivitamin may help slow aging
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Mass General Brigham researchers analyzed 958 older adults (average age 70) in the COSMOS trial and found that two years of daily multivitamin use slowed epigenetic clock aging by about four months compared to placebo.
- COSMOS participants were randomly assigned to four arms—cocoa extract plus multivitamin, cocoa extract plus placebo, placebo plus multivitamin, or double placebo—to isolate the multivitamin effect.
- Howard Sesso, senior author, highlighted that the effect was strongest among participants whose biological age exceeded their chronological age at baseline.
- Epigenetic clocks, DNA methylation‑based measures, showed slower aging in the multivitamin group across five separate clocks after one and two years.
Why it matters: Older adults, especially those with accelerated biological aging, gain a low‑cost, safe supplement that may extend healthspan, potentially easing future healthcare costs tied to age‑related disease.
Ask SkimNews
