Mass General Brigham investigators recently reviewed data from the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) to determine if daily multivitamin use impacts blood pressure (BP) or hypertension risk. The study focused on 8,905 older adults without hypertension at the baseline, tracking them over a median period of 3.4 years to analyze the long-term effects of supplementation versus a placebo.

Key Findings

The analysis revealed that for the general study population, daily multivitamins performed no better than a placebo regarding overall hypertension risk. However, modest but meaningful benefits were observed in specific subgroups:

• Diet Quality: Participants with poorer nutritional intake (lower diet quality scores) experienced a reduced risk of developing hypertension.
• Baseline Health: Individuals who started the study with normal blood pressure levels saw small, significant reductions in BP measurements over two years.

Conclusions

The researchers concluded that multivitamins are not a "one-size-fits-all" solution for blood pressure control. Instead, they appear most beneficial for older adults seeking to fill nutritional gaps caused by poorer diets. While nutrition remains the cornerstone of BP control, multivitamins may serve as a useful adjunct for specific populations. Further research is recommended to explore these effects in younger and middle-aged adults.

Mentoring question

Given that the study highlights the specific benefit of multivitamins for those with poorer diet quality, how might you assess your current nutritional intake to determine if supplementation is actually necessary for your health goals?

Source: https://scitechdaily.com/new-research-identifies-who-actually-benefits-from-daily-multivitamins/