Highlight the major clinical outcomes of vitamins and minerals in healthy aging: a systematic review

Introduction: In the context of healthy longevity, aging is a natural phenomenon that promotes a senescent phenotype, with the shortening of telomeres. The main ways to increase a healthy life expectancy include lifestyle modifications and pharmacological manipulations. Vitamins, minerals (as micronutrients), essential amino acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), probiotics, and plant metabolites such as polyphenols and terpenoids are widely recognized for preventing aging. Objective: It was to carry out a systematic review to highlight the main clinical outcomes of vitamins and minerals in healthy aging. Methods: The PRISMA Platform systematic review rules were followed. The search was carried out from August to September 2023 in the Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, Scielo, and Google Scholar databases. The quality of the studies was based on the GRADE instrument and the risk of bias was analyzed according to the Cochrane instrument. Results and Conclusion: A total of 122 articles were found, and 40 articles were evaluated in full and 38 were included and developed in the present systematic review study. Considering the Cochrane tool for risk of bias, the overall assessment resulted in 25 studies with a high risk of bias and 21 studies that did not meet GRADE and AMSTAR-2. Most studies showed homogeneity in their results, with X2=72.4%>50%. Zinc and copper govern many functions that characterize the so-called “oxy-aging”. Selenium (Se) is a fundamental cofactor in many redox functions, vitamin C's role in aging has been investigated particularly for skin health and immunity, particularly in inflammatory and degenerative diseases. Retinoids, which represent a synthetic form of vitamin A, appear effective in preventing skin degeneration due to aging. The role of vitamin E in preventing and reducing ROS-induced injuries has been well described. Supplementation with selenium and coenzyme Q10 influenced the biomarkers analyzed to indicate an anti-aging effect. It was concluded that micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals have anti-oxidant, protective, and regenerative properties to promote healthy aging.