Lee Swanson Research Update

Multivitamins and Minerals May Boost Mood in Elderly

August 2007

A daily multivitamin and mineral supplement may improve depressive symptoms amongst the elderly, suggests a new trial from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom.

Writing in the journal Clinical Nutrition, researchers Salah Gariballa and Sarah Forster said: "The effect of nutritional supplements on mental health in older patients has received little attention so far. The aims of this trial were therefore to test the effect of nutritional support for older patients' depressive symptoms and cognitive function."

"In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we randomly assigned 225 hospitalized acutely ill older patients to receive either normal diet, plus 400 mL oral nutritional supplements (106 subjects) or normal hospital diet, plus a placebo (119 subjects) daily for six weeks."

Gariballa and Forster report that at the end of the study, levels of folate and vitamin B-12 in red blood cells and the plasma, respectively, increased significantly in the multivitamin and mineral group but decreased in the placebo group.

Significant differences were also reported for symptoms of depression scores between the groups, with beneficial effects observed for patients in the supplementation group regardless of the initial level of depression of the individual, ranging from no depression to severe depression. No differences were noted in cognitive function scores.

Clinical Nutrition (Published online ahead of print)

New to Natural Health?
Tools
Customer Service