Vitamin Supplementation and Dementia: A Systematic Review
Nutrients 2022,14, 1033. https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu14051033
Victoria Gil Martinez 1 , Ana Avedillo Salas 2 and Sonia Santander Ballestin soniasb at unizar.es
Department of Geriatric Care, Bonifatius Hospital Lingen, 49808 Lingen, Germany; victoriiagil at gmail.com
Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Legal and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine,
University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; aave60 at hotmail.com
Background: Dementia is a syndrome characterized by progressive cognitive impairment that interferes with independent function in daily activities. Symptoms of dementia depend on its cause and vary greatly between individuals. There is extensive evidence supporting a relationship between diet and cognitive functions. This systematic review studies the efficacy of using vitamin supplements in the diet as a solution to nutritional deficiencies and the prevention of dementia and mild cognitive impairment. Methods: An intensive search of different databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane CENTRAL) was performed. Articles that were published between 2011 and November 2021 were retrieved using the mentioned search strategy. This systematic review has been conducted according to the PRISMA statement.
Results: Folic acid supplementation proved to have better outcomes on cognitive tests than their respective control groups. The combined supplementation of folic acid and vitamin B12 showed some discrepancies between studies. Thiamine as supplementation did not only prove to have a positive impact on cognitive performance when given alone but also when given in combination with folic acid. Regarding vitamin D supplementation, the results observed were not so encouraging. A concomitant supplementation of low-dose vitamin E and vitamin C was also not associated with an improvement of cognitive function.
Conclusions: The findings of this systematic review suggest that supplementation of B Complex vitamins, especially folic acid, may have a positive effect on delaying and preventing the risk of cognitive decline. Ascorbic acid and a high dose of vitamin E, when given separately, also showed positive effects on cognitive performance, but there is not sufficient evidence to support their use. The results of vitamin D supplementation trials are not conclusive in assessing the potential benefits that vitamin D might have on cognition.
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The four main ones are Alzheimer’s disease, vascular, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and Lewy body
Conclusions
- The findings of this systematic review suggest that supplementation of B Complex vitamins, especially a supplementation of folic acid, may have a positive effect on delaying and preventing the risk of cognitive decline.
- Ascorbic acid and a high dose of vitamin E also showed positive effects on cognitive performance. However, due to the small number of studies included in this systematic review about these vitamins, there is not sufficient evidence to support their use.
- Regarding vitamin D supplementation, the findings observed vary vastly among trials. This results in a lack of certainty in assessing the potential benefits that vitamin D might have on cognition.
Note: Only one study used enough Vitamin D that had a chance of making a difference
VitaminDWiki pages with DEMENTIA in title (41 as of May 2022)
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