Daily multivitamins may help seniors maintain functional health, study suggests

Daily multivitamin consumption might help individuals over 60 better maintain their functional health, a measure of their ability to perform daily living activities such as dressing, bathing, and walking. This finding comes from a study presented at the NUTRITION 2026 conference, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.

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The biggest feature of this study is that it did not stop at simply looking at whether severe diseases were prevented, but focused on 'functional health', how well people actually move and live in their daily lives.

Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University analyzed data from over 16,000 adults aged 60 and older who participated in the COSMOS trial. They found that those who took a daily multivitamin had significantly higher functional health scores after three years compared to those who took a placebo. The most significant differences were observed in clinical summary scores, which assess symptom burden and overall physical function.

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The results of this study suggest that taking a daily multivitamin may be a relatively low-risk, supplementary method that older adults can add to their healthy lifestyle habits.

Dr. Bayu B. Bekele, the lead researcher, highlighted that the study focused on "functional health", how well people move and live in their daily lives, rather than solely on preventing severe diseases. He suggested that daily multivitamins could be a low-risk, supplementary method for older adults to support a healthy lifestyle, but stressed they do not replace balanced diets or regular exercise.

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However, this cannot replace a balanced diet or regular exercise, and should only be understood as a supplementary measure.

While the study indicated potential benefits, particularly for those with existing cardiovascular conditions, researchers cautioned against overinterpreting the results. Dr. Bekele noted that the overall effect was modest, representing a slight improvement rather than enabling sudden new capabilities. The study also found that cocoa extract did not significantly improve functional health scores for the general participant group, though it showed benefits for patients with congestive heart failure. The researchers advised consulting a doctor before starting new supplements due to potential interactions with existing conditions or medications. The findings are preliminary, having been presented at a conference before peer review and journal publication.

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People who took multivitamins were not suddenly able to do activities they couldn't do in the placebo group. The overall effect was not large, just a slight improvement.