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Vitamins
supplement Under reviewA multivitamin is a dietary supplement that combines a broad spectrum of essential vitamins, often with minerals and sometimes additional micronutrients, in a single daily dose. Formulations typically include most or all water‑soluble B vitamins and vitamin C, along with fat‑soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, and varying amounts of minerals such as zinc, selenium, iodine, and others. Doses are usually designed to approximate or modestly exceed recommended daily intakes rather than provide high pharmacologic levels of individual nutrients. Multivitamins work primarily by preventing or correcting marginal micronutrient deficiencies that can occur when dietary intake is suboptimal, energy intake is low, or absorption is impaired. By supplying required cofactors for enzymes, hormones, and cellular processes, they help support normal metabolism, immune function, vision, red blood cell production, bone health, and antioxidant defense. In healthy adults with reasonably balanced diets, multivitamins are generally viewed as an insurance policy against small nutrient gaps rather than a treatment for disease. Multivitamins are widely used for general health maintenance and perceived benefits such as increased energy, better immune resilience, and healthy aging. They are also commonly recommended in specific life stages or contexts where requirements are elevated or diet quality may be compromised, such as pregnancy, restrictive diets, or chronic low‑calorie intake. However, modern large clinical trials suggest that their effects on major hard outcomes like cardiovascular events, cancer, or all‑cause mortality are limited, with benefits more likely to appear in targeted areas such as specific nutrient deficiencies, eye health in high‑risk groups, or certain aspects of cognition in older adults.
Research summary
Large randomized controlled trials and cohort studies in generally healthy adults show that daily multivitamin use has little or no effect on overall mortality, cardiovascular disease events, or most major chronic disease outcomes over many years of follow‑up. Evidence reviews integrating dozens of trials conclude that multivitamins provide, at best, a small reduction in overall cancer risk and little measurable benefit for preventing heart disease or death in well‑nourished populations. More targeted outcomes show a more nuanced picture. In adults at elevated risk for age‑related macular degeneration, multivitamin‑like formulations with high doses of specific vitamins and minerals reduce progression to advanced disease and slow visual acuity loss. In older adults, several recent randomized trials have found modest but statistically significant improvements in global cognition or episodic memory with daily multivitamin use over one to three years, particularly in those with cardiovascular risk factors or older age. Overall, the research consensus is that multivitamins are safe at standard doses, can correct marginal deficiencies, and may confer specific benefits in eye health and cognition for older adults, but they do not reliably improve longevity or broadly prevent chronic disease in otherwise healthy, well‑fed adults.
Reported Benefits
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Daily Multivitamin Supplementation and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: The COSMOS‑Mind Randomized Clinical Trial
Baker LD, Espeland MA, Carlson MC, et al.
Effect of Multivitamin Supplementation on Memory in Community‑Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial (COSMOS‑Web)
Schanzer A, Sesso HD, Manson JE, et al.
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Daily Multivitamin Supplementation and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: The COSMOS‑Mind Randomized Clinical Trial
Baker LD, Espeland MA, Carlson MC, et al.
Effect of Multivitamin Supplementation on Memory in Community‑Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial (COSMOS‑Web)
Schanzer A, Sesso HD, Manson JE, et al.
No reports yet
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Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements and Mortality: Results from a Large Prospective Study and a Systematic Review
Fortmann SP, Burda BU, Senger CA, et al.
Effect of a Daily Multivitamin on Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, and Mortality in Men: The Physicians’ Health Study II Randomized Controlled Trial
Gaziano JM, Sesso HD, Christen WG, et al.
No reports yet
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Effect of a Multivitamin and Mineral Supplement on Progression of Age‑Related Macular Degeneration
Age‑Related Eye Disease Study Research Group
No reports yet
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Effect of a Multivitamin and Mineral Supplement on Progression of Age‑Related Macular Degeneration
Age‑Related Eye Disease Study Research Group
No side effects tracked yet
No side effects have been reported by studies or users for this habit yet.
Research (5 studies)
Effect of Multivitamin Supplementation on Memory in Community‑Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial (COSMOS‑Web)
Schanzer A, Sesso HD, Manson JE, et al.
Daily Multivitamin Supplementation and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: The COSMOS‑Mind Randomized Clinical Trial
Baker LD, Espeland MA, Carlson MC, et al.
Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements and Mortality: Results from a Large Prospective Study and a Systematic Review
Fortmann SP, Burda BU, Senger CA, et al.
Effect of a Daily Multivitamin on Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, and Mortality in Men: The Physicians’ Health Study II Randomized Controlled Trial
Gaziano JM, Sesso HD, Christen WG, et al.
Effect of a Multivitamin and Mineral Supplement on Progression of Age‑Related Macular Degeneration
Age‑Related Eye Disease Study Research Group
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