Review Finds Mental Health Benefits with Multivitamin Supplementation

by | Jul 29, 2013 | 2013, Brain Health, Vitamins

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. A review of 8 studies and 1292 healthy subjects showed that multivitamin use reduced stress, fatigue, mild psychiatric symptoms, and anxiety.

An estimated 49% of Americans take a dietary supplement, including 70% of those older than the age of 70, the most common being a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement (1). When it comes to vitamin deficiencies, people can have “subclinical” deficiencies of vitamins that will not appear on a blood test.  These subclinical deficiencies are thought to affect mental health in the form of an inability to handle stress, anxiety, and even produce mild psychiatric symptoms (2).

Now a new research review (3) suggests that multi-vitamin/mineral supplementation may benefit mental health by addressing subclinical vitamin deficiencies. In the study, researchers identified 8 studies totaling 1,292 healthy subjects between the ages of 18 and 69. The studies lasted at least 28 days and ranged from taking supplements of no more than twice the recommended daily intake (4,5,6) to doses much higher than the recommended daily allowance but containing three minerals or less (7,8,9,10,11).

The researchers noted that multivitamin/mineral supplementation was found to reduce stress (p = 0.001), fatigue (p = 0.003), mild psychiatric symptoms (p = 0.001), and anxiety (p = 0.001) but not depression (p = 0.089). Significantly greater benefits to mental health were seen in subjects receiving 5 to 10 times the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) compared to those receiving no more than twice the RDA. But as the RDAs were devised primarily to prevent clinical deficiency diseases such as scurvy (vitamin C), rickets (vitamin D), and beriberi (thiamine) and not to promote mental health, “the present findings should not come as a surprise.”

Finally, the researchers cited the shortfall of vitamin supplement studies in women, as only 1 of the 8 studies focused solely on women. With research showing that women may suffer vitamin deficiencies more severely than men (12), “it is reasonable to suggest that supplementation may be potentially more beneficial in female populations.”

While the researchers admit “there is a consistent finding…that multivitamin/mineral supplementation improves aspects of mood”, there is still no way to yet calculate the optimal dosages for each person to elicit these beneficial mental effects as people have different rates of absorption for certain nutrients. They conclude, “Until these parameters [for optimal dosages] are established, it would be unwise to over-interpret the findings and assume that dietary manipulations have other than a minor influence on people without a preexisting mood-related problem.”

Source: Effects of vitamin and mineral supplementation on stress, mild psychiatric symptoms, and mood in nonclinical samples: a meta-analysis

© 2013 by the American Psychosomatic Society

Posted July 29, 2013.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

References:

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  2. Benton D. To establish the parameters of optimal nutrition do we need to consider psychological in addition to physiological parameters? Mol Nutr Food Res 2013;57:6Y19.
  3. Long SJ. Effects of vitamin and mineral supplementation on stress, mild psychiatric symptoms, and mood in nonclinical samples: a meta-analysis.  Psychosom Med 2013;75(2):144-53. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31827d5fbd.
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  9. Carroll D, Ring C, Suter M, Willemsen G. The effects of an oral multivitamin combination with calcium, magnesium, and zinc on psychological well-being in healthy young male volunteers: a double blind placebocontrolled trial. Psychopharmacology 2000;150:220Y25.
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  12. Ruston D, Hoare J, Henderson L, Gregory J, Bates CJ, Prentice A, Birch M, Swan G, Farron M. The United Kingdom National Diet and Nutrition Survey. London, UK: TSO; 2003.