People over 60 who take a daily multivitamin pill may be slowing age-related memory decline, according to a new study that amplifies similar findings from last year.

More than 3,500 American adults over the age of 60 were randomly assigned to take either a daily multivitamin supplement or placebo for three years.

At the end of each year, participants performed a series of online cognitive assessments at home designed to test memory function of the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is normally affected by aging.

By the end of the first year, memory improved for the people taking a daily multivitamin, compared with those taking a placebo—and the benefits were sustained over the three-year period.

The researchers at Columbia University and Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard said the results are consistent with another recent study from Wake Forest University that followed more than 2,200 older adults and found that taking a daily multivitamin improved overall cognition, memory recall, and attention.

The earlier study showed that three years of multivitamin supplementation roughly translated to a 60% slowing of cognitive decline, equating to around 1.8 years of normal mental capacity.

"Because of our innovative approach of assessing cognitive outcomes using internet-based tests, we were able to examine the effects of a multivitamin in thousands of study participants," said Professor Adam Brickman, of Columbia University.

"The aging brain may be more sensitive to nutrition than we realized," said first author Dr. Lok-Kin Yeung, also of Columbia.

"Our study suggests that supplementation with multivitamins may be a simple and inexpensive way for older adults to slow down memory loss."

Co-author Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said: "The finding that a daily multivitamin improved memory in two separate cognition studies…is remarkable."

The effect was even more pronounced in participants with underlying heart disease, according to the findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"There is evidence that people with cardiovascular disease may have lower micronutrient levels that multivitamins may correct, but we don't really know right now why the effect is stronger in this group."

The researchers, whose work was partially funded by the National Institutes of Health, did not look at whether any specific component of the multivitamin supplement was linked to the improvement in memory.

"Though it may not be so important to find out which specific nutrient helps slow age-related cognitive decline," said Yeung.

"The findings are promising and certainly set the stage for important follow-up studies about the impact of multivitamin supplementation on cognition," concluded Brickman, who reminds people that getting nutrients from your food is always preferable.

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