Overview
- Researchers presented results on July 27 at NUTRITION 2026 from the COSMOS randomized trial of more than 16,000 adults aged 60 and older who were assigned to a daily multivitamin, cocoa extract, both, or placebo.
- After three years, participants assigned to the multivitamin had significantly better functional-health scores on the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire, reflecting fewer symptoms and modestly better overall physical ability than placebo recipients.
- Those taking the multivitamin also performed better on tests of overall cognition, episodic memory, and executive function, with provisional analyses suggesting a slowing of cognitive ageing equivalent to about 1.8 years over three years.
- The largest symptom improvements involved fatigue, shortness of breath, and swelling—signs tied to heart health—and benefits were greatest in people with preexisting cardiovascular conditions; cocoa extract showed no overall benefit but helped participants with congestive heart failure.
- Investigators emphasized the findings are hypothesis-generating and stopped short of recommending universal supplementation, urging targeted clinical trials to determine whether the functional and cognitive gains translate into fewer heart events, less dementia, or longer life.