Higher intake of dietary vitamin mixture was associated with slower biological aging, with vitamin C as the key protective driver, supporting recommendations for vitamin-rich diets to promote healthy aging.
Key Findings
Results
Higher total vitamin intake was significantly associated with reduced biological aging across all three indicators.
KDM-acceleration: β = -1.281
PhenoAge-acceleration: β = -1.379
HD: β = -0.046
Cross-sectional study of 15,050 adults from NHANES 2007-2018
Median age was 51.0 years, and 51.5% were female
Results
The dose-response relationships between total vitamin intake and biological aging were linear.
Restricted cubic spline regression was used to assess dose-response relationships
All Pnonlinear > 0.05 for the three biological aging indicators
No evidence of nonlinear associations was found
Results
Vitamin C was identified as the primary protective component of the vitamin mixture against biological aging, followed by vitamin B2.
Quantile g-computation was used to assess joint and individual contributions of the 11-vitamin mixture
Vitamin C was identified as the key protective driver
Vitamin B2 was the second most important contributor
The mixture included 11 dietary vitamins in total
Results
Stratified analyses revealed stronger associations between vitamin intake and biological aging in males and individuals with comorbidity.
Subgroup analyses were performed by sex and comorbidity status
Males showed stronger inverse associations between vitamin intake and biological aging compared to females
Individuals with comorbidity showed stronger associations than those without
Multiple linear regression was used in stratified analyses
Methods
Biological aging was assessed using three established indicators: KDM-acceleration, PhenoAge-acceleration, and homeostatic dysregulation (HD).
KDM-acceleration and PhenoAge-acceleration were derived as regression residuals of biological age on chronological age
HD is described as a composite physiological score
Daily intakes of 11 vitamins were estimated using the multiple source method to account for within-person variation
Two 24-hour recalls were used, incorporating both food and supplement contributions
Zhang X, Xu Y, Wang X, Chen M, Xiong J, Cheng G. (2026). Association between vitamin intake and biological aging: evidence from NHANES 2007-2018.. The journal of nutrition, health & aging. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnha.2026.100776