Vitamin E for Cognitive Function

Research suggests that vitamin E's role in supporting cognitive function remains uncertain and largely unproven, with the most consistent finding across a 2017 Cochrane systematic review and a 2017 Cochrane meta-analysis being that vitamin E does not improve cognitive function in people with Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment, though one trial offered moderate-quality evidence that it may help slow the decline in ability to perform daily activities in Alzheimer's patients. A 2018 Cochrane meta-analysis of over 83,000 participants found no convincing evidence that antioxidant vitamin supplementation, including vitamin E, prevented cognitive decline in healthy older adults, and a 2022 systematic review similarly concluded that low-dose combinations of vitamins E and C showed no cognitive benefits, while high-dose vitamin E showed some individual positive effects that were not yet considered sufficient evidence. A 2021 narrative review of clinical trials was more cautiously optimistic, noting promising effects of vitamin E among several nutrients studied, while a 2024 review of Alzheimer's treatments noted that vitamin E may slow functional decline without improving cognition. Taken together, the available evidence — drawn primarily from randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses — is mixed at best, and researchers consistently emphasize that the body of evidence remains limited in size and quality, warranting further investigation before firm conclusions can be drawn.