The Study
A micronutrient supplement modulates homocysteine levels regardless of vitamin B biostatus in elderly subjects.
This study gave some older people a vitamin pill and others a fake pill, then measured their blood. The people who took the real pill had less homocysteine in their blood. That means the pill probably caused the drop—not just luck. But it didn’t test if this stops heart problems or memory loss.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Older people often have a chemical called homocysteine that’s too high, which might hurt their heart and brain. This study gave them a daily vitamin pill with folic acid and B12 to see if it helps.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 556 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — lowering homocysteine is linked to lower risk of heart disease and memory problems, so this pill may help protect older adults even if they don’t have a vitamin deficiency.
- 2After 12 weeks, the vitamin pill lowered homocysteine by 3.6 points on average.
- 3It also raised B12 and folate levels in the blood, even in people who weren’t deficient to start with.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
International journal for vitamin and nutrition research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Vitamin- und Ernahrungsforschung. Journal international de vitaminologie et de nutrition
Year
2023
Authors
Marija Savic-Hartwig, F. Kerlikowsky, E. van de Flierdt, A. Hahn, J. Schuchardt
Related Content
Claims (6)
Taking dietary supplements restores essential nutrient levels in people who eat modern diets, and this restoration restores normal physiological function.
In older adults with slightly high homocysteine levels, taking vitamin B12 and folate supplements reduces homocysteine even when blood tests show no deficiency.
Taking a daily supplement with 400 micrograms of folic acid and 100 micrograms of vitamin B12 for 12 weeks lowers homocysteine levels by an average of 3.6 micromoles per liter in healthy people aged 75 and older, regardless of their initial vitamin B levels.
In older adults, taking a daily supplement of 400 micrograms of folic acid and 100 micrograms of vitamin B12 lowers homocysteine levels more in those who start with higher levels than in those who start with lower levels.
Taking a daily supplement containing 400 micrograms of folic acid and 100 micrograms of vitamin B12 for 12 weeks increases levels of vitamin B12 and folate in the blood of healthy older adults, even if they were not deficient before.
In healthy older adults, taking 400 micrograms of folic acid and 100 micrograms of vitamin B12 daily for 12 weeks does not change vitamin B status in people taking a placebo, which means any improvements seen in those taking the supplement are due to the supplement itself and not random fluctuations or testing errors.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.