Daily Multivitamins Linked to Improved Cognition in Older People

Taking a daily multivitamin may improve cognitive function in older people, astudy inAlzheimer ’s& Dementia has found. Taking a cocoa supplement, however, does not appear to slow cognitive decline.“There is an urgent need to identify effective strategies to preserve cognitive function to mitigate the heavy societal burden associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, which affect more than 46 million people worldwide,” wrote Laura D. Baker, Ph.D., of Wake Forest University S chool of Medicine and colleagues. Cocoa extract is rich in compounds called flavanols, and previous small studies suggest that these compounds may positively impact cognition.Baker and colleagues analyzed data from 2,262 people aged 65 years or older who enrolled in theCOcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study for the Mind (COSMOS-Mind) between August 2016 and August 2017. COSMOS-Mind is an ancillary study to a larger trial that investigated whether taking a daily cocoa extract supplement or a daily multivitamin-mineral supplement reduces the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other health outcomes. In the parent study, participants were randomized to one of four groups: Cocoa extract and placebo, multivitamin and placebo, cocoa extract and multivitamin, or placebo and placebo.Participants in the COSMOS-Mind study (60% women, 89% non-Hispanic White), completed a baseline cognitive assessment over the phone and were scored on their verbal fluency, ability t...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Alzheimer ' s & Dementia cardiovacsular disease cocoa extract cognitive decline COSMOS-Mind multivitamin Source Type: research