Riboflavin, vitamin B6 and dementia risk in Japanese adults
What it found
Higher dietary intake of riboflavin and vitamin B6 was linked to a lower chance of disabling dementia over about 15 years.
This was seen in a group of Japanese adults.
What they found
Studies in people
Riboflavin and dementia risk
People who ate the most riboflavin had about half the chance of disabling dementia compared with those who ate the least. There were 887 cases of disabling dementia in total.
Vitamin B6 and dementia
A similar pattern was seen for vitamin B6. Those with the highest intake had a lower chance of disabling dementia than those with the lowest intake.
Folate and dementia
Higher folate intake was also linked to a lower chance of disabling dementia. The link was similar in size to the one seen for vitamin B6.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that eating more B vitamins, especially riboflavin, vitamin B6 and folate, is linked to a lower chance of disabling dementia in Japanese people.
How it was done
Low intake of B vitamins might raise the chance of dementia. Scientists noted that evidence for riboflavin in particular is still limited.
Researchers followed 4171 Japanese adults aged 40 to 69 for a median of 15.4 years. They estimated B vitamin intake using a single day of food recall. They tracked cases of disabling dementia that required care under the national insurance system.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- Because this study followed people over time rather than assigning diets, it can only show a link, not prove cause and effect. A single day of food recall may not reflect what people usually eat.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The institutional review boards of the Osaka Institute of Public Health (No. 2409-02), Kindai University (No. R04-255), Osaka University (No. 14285-13), and University of Tsukuba (No. 2047-1) approved the study procedure. This study conformed to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from community leaders. Based on the nature of the study as a secondary use of data initially obtained for public health practice on cardiovascular disease prevention within the local community, individual consent was not required for the analysis. In compliance with relevant guidelines and regulations, the participants were retrospectively allowed to opt out of the analysis. If participants did not decline participation in this study, their consent for data usage was assumed.
- Authors work at
- University of Tsukuba, Japan; National University of Singapore, Singapore; Juntendo University, Japan
The paper
- Title
- Dietary intake of folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and riboflavin and the risk of incident dementia
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Kishida R, Yamagishi K, Maruyama K, et al (2025). Dietary intake of folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and riboflavin and the risk of incident dementia. European journal of clinical nutrition. doi:10.1038/s41430-025-01663-5PubMed 40999064DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error