It is generally agreed that ageing is associated with impaired immune responses and increased infection-related morbidity. In 1992, an eminent immunologist from Newfoundland, Canada and Johns Hopkins assessed the effect of physiologic amounts of vitamins and trace elements on immunocompetence and occurrence of infection-related illness.1 He assigned 96 independently living ambulatory healthy elderly individuals to receive either routine daily maintenance vitamin supplementation or placebo. Nutrient status and immunologic variables were assessed at baseline and at 12 months, and the frequency of illness due to infection was ascertained.

Subjects in the supplemented group had higher numbers of certain T-cell subsets and natural killer cells, enhanced proliferation response to mitogen, increased interleukin-2 production, and higher antibody response and natural killer cell activity. These subjects were less likely than those in the placebo group to have illness due to infections (23 versus 48 days per year). He concluded that supplementation with a modest physiologic amount of micronutrients improved immunity and decreased the risk of infection in old age.

In a subsequent double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 35 additional healthy, noninstitutionalized elderly subjects were once again supplied with multivitamin versus placebo supplementation. Pike and Chandra note that giving micronutrients can play a crucial role in the maintenance of normal immune function in the elderly. This piece of work received very little attention because of its lack of drama. Afterall, these were just ordinary healthy elderly people given a simple multivitamin-trace mineral tablet!