An analysis led by researchers at Brigham General in Massachusetts found that after two years of daily multivitamin intake, aging slowed in older adults, with greater benefits for those who began the trial at an accelerated biological age.
The rate at which our bodies age at the cellular level, or our “biological age,” may differ from our actual age. Researchers at the Massachusetts General Brigham Research Institute used data from a large randomized clinical trial in older adults to evaluate the effects of daily multivitamin intake over two years on five measures of biological aging and found a reduction in aging equivalent to approximately four months of aging. Benefits increased for people who were biologically older than their chronological age at the start of the trial. their results are natural medicine.
“Today, there is a lot of interest in identifying ways to not just live longer, but better,” said senior author Howard Sesso, Ph.D., MPH, vice chair of the Division of Preventive Medicine at the Massachusetts General Brigham Medical School. “It was exciting to see the benefits of multivitamins in relation to markers of biological aging. This study opens the door to learning more about accessible and safe interventions that contribute to healthier, higher-quality aging.”
Epigenetic clocks estimate biological aging based on small changes in DNA. These clocks look at specific sites in our DNA that regulate gene expression (known as DNA methylation) and naturally change as we age, helping us track mortality rates and the pace of aging. This study used data from the established COcoa Supplement Multivitamins Outcomes Study (COSMOS) and analyzed DNA methylation data from blood samples of 958 randomly selected healthy participants with an average chronological age of 70 years.
Study participants were randomly assigned to take cocoa extract and a multivitamin daily. Daily cocoa extract and placebo. Placebos and multivitamins. Or just a placebo. Changes in five epigenetic clocks in the sample were analyzed from the start of the study to the end of the first and second years. Compared to the placebo-only group, people in the multivitamin group had all five epigenetic clocks delayed, including statistically significant delays in two clocks that predict mortality. This change corresponds to a reduction in biological aging of approximately 4 months over a 2-year period. Additionally, people who were biologically older than their chronological age at the start of the trial benefited the most.
We plan to conduct follow-up studies to determine whether the slowing of biological aging observed with these five epigenetic clocks and additional or new clocks persists beyond the end of the study. ”
Yanbin Dong, MD, PhD, Co-author and Collaborator, Medical College of Georgia, Director, Georgia Prescription Institute, Augusta University
Further research is also needed to determine how improvements in biological aging may explain reduced clinical outcomes. The COSMOS team plans to investigate how the effects of daily multivitamins on biological aging extend to a range of outcomes for which evidence of benefit has been identified, such as improved cognitive function and reduced cancer and cataracts.
“Many people take multivitamins without necessarily knowing the benefits of taking them, so the more you learn about the potential health benefits of multivitamins, the better,” Sesso says. “Within COSMOS, we are fortunate and excited to be building a rich resource of biomarker data to test how two interventions can ameliorate biological aging and reduce age-related clinical outcomes.”
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Reference magazines:
Lee, S. others. (2026). Effects of daily multivitamin/multimineral and cocoa extract supplementation on the epigenetic aging clock in the COSMOS randomized clinical trial. natural medicine. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-026-04239-3. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04239-3
