Vitamin D Plus Omega-3 Lifted Thinking Scores Over a Year
Graded Moderate — chance assigned 360 older adults to four groups, including a dummy pill, for a full year; but everyone came from a single district in China.
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial
- Participants
- 360
- Duration
- 12 months
- Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
In older adults with mild thinking problems, vitamin D and DHA together raised test scores more than either one alone.
Older adults with mild cognitive impairment, meaning a noticeable dip in thinking skills, scored better on intelligence tests after a year of vitamin D and the omega-3 fat DHA. The gain was largest when people took both together. Each one on its own also did better than a dummy pill.
The trial ran in Tianjin, China, with 360 people aged 65 or older who lived at home. They were split at random into four groups: 800 units of vitamin D3 a day, 1 gram of DHA, both, or capsules of corn oil. In total, 355 stayed to the end. After twelve months, the combined group's overall test score was almost 13 points higher than the dummy group's. Certain inflammation markers in the blood fell in all three active groups. No side effects were reported.
The researchers suspect a protein called gasdermin D plays a part, as it is involved in an inflammatory form of cell death. By their calculation, though, its drop explained only about 8 percent of the effect. All participants came from one district, and diet and exercise were not fully accounted for. Whether the results hold elsewhere is still open.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Disclaimer: Research summaries are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.