Does vitamin B6 help with anxiety?

Probably not on its own, and the trials that tested it disagree with each other. In a 2022 randomized trial, 265 young adults took 100 mg of vitamin B6 a day for about a month. Anxiety fell in the B6 group with an effect size of d = 0.37, but the difference from placebo did not reach statistical significance. When the same group repeated the trial in 2026 with 267 adults from the general population, B6 did not change anxiety or stress scores at all. Neither trial recruited people diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

Unsettled. Two trials of B6 alone, one suggestive and one null, both run by the same researchers at a dose of 100 mg a day. That dose is about eight times the upper limit the European Food Safety Authority set for adults in 2023. We found no meta-analysis of B6 alone for anxiety.

What the trials found

Vitamin B6 alone

The 2022 trial gave young adults 100 mg of pyridoxine hydrochloride, 1000 mcg of vitamin B12 or a placebo for about a month, and measured anxiety in 265 of them. We read its full text. Anxiety dropped in the B6 arm (d = 0.37) and dropped less, without reaching significance, in the placebo arm (d = 0.12). The test that compares the two arms over time gave p = 0.140, which is not significant. The paper's title says B6 reduces anxiety. Its own comparison with placebo does not show that.

The 2026 repeat randomized 267 adults to the same three arms for a month. The authors write that they repeated the analysis for anxiety and stress and found no significant effects. Depression scores fell only in a subgroup of 58 people who had symptoms at the start. We could read only the abstract, which gives no effect size for anxiety.

A third trial gave 80 mg a day of B6 or placebo to people with fibromyalgia. Of 90 who started, 60 finished. Anxiety scores improved in both groups, with no significant difference between them.

B6 added to magnesium

Myth. Adding B6 to magnesium for stress was tested head to head. In an 8-week trial of 264 stressed adults with low blood magnesium, 300 mg of magnesium with 30 mg of B6 a day cut stress scores by 44.9 percent. Magnesium alone cut them by 42.4 percent, and the difference was not significant. The trial had no placebo arm and was sponsored by the maker of a magnesium and B6 product. A later analysis of the same trial found anxiety improved over the 8 weeks in both arms.

There was an advantage for the combination in one subgroup of 162 people with severe stress, 3.16 points on the stress scale (95% confidence interval 0.50 to 5.82). That is one subgroup of one trial without a placebo.

B vitamin mixtures and multivitamins

A 2019 meta-analysis of randomized trials of supplements with at least three B vitamins, taken daily for at least four weeks, found no effect on anxiety in 562 people. The standardized mean difference was 0.03, with a confidence interval from -0.13 to 0.20. Stress improved slightly in the same analysis. A 2013 meta-analysis of 8 trials in healthy people found that multivitamin and mineral supplements taken for at least 28 days lowered anxiety by a small amount, a standardized difference of 0.32. Both tested mixtures, and neither can say how much, if any, of the effect came from B6.

A 2017 systematic review of 14 trials in women reported that B6 alone eased anxiety in older women, and that B6 with magnesium eased premenstrual anxiety. The review pooled nothing because the trials were too different, and the finding in older women rests on a single study.

Diet, in observational data

In a cross-sectional survey of 3362 adults in Isfahan, Iran, people in the lowest third of B6 intake had 2.30 times the odds of anxiety (95% confidence interval 1.31 to 4.04). The link held in women and not in men. A survey taken at one point in time cannot show which came first, and odds are not risk. PubMed tags this study as a randomized trial, which it is not.

Who should be careful

Not for everyone. The dose tested for anxiety is a supplement dose far above food. The European Food Safety Authority set the adult upper limit at 12 mg a day in 2023, for pregnant and breastfeeding women too, and the two B6-only anxiety trials in healthy adults used 100 mg. The US upper limit is 100 mg a day, so the two bodies differ about eightfold.

The harm both limits guard against is nerve damage. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements says taking 1 to 6 g of pyridoxine a day for 12 to 40 months can cause severe and progressive sensory neuropathy, with loss of control of movement. The same fact sheet describes nerve damage at lower doses too, under 500 mg a day. B6 from food has not been linked to harm.

If you take anti-seizure medicine, high-dose B6 is a question for your doctor. The NIH fact sheet notes that 200 mg of pyridoxine a day for 12 to 120 days can lower blood levels of phenytoin and phenobarbital.

What expert bodies say

The European Union lets a vitamin B6 label say that it contributes to normal psychological function. That is an authorized general claim about a normal intake. It says nothing about treating anxiety, and a label that uses it is not making that promise. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet on B6 has nothing on mood or anxiety. We found no expert body that recommends B6 for anxiety.

For the rest of what B6 does, how much you need and what too much looks like, see vitamin B6 and can you get too much vitamin B6.

How we searched

What would change this answer

• A trial of B6 alone in people diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Every B6-only trial so far was in healthy young adults, the general population or people with fibromyalgia.
• A trial at a dose inside the European upper limit of 12 mg a day. The B6-only trials used 80 to 100 mg, so even a positive result would not tell you what an ordinary supplement does.
• A systematic review of B6 alone for anxiety. We found none, and no registered trial of B6 for anxiety in our ClinicalTrials.gov snapshot.
• The full text of the 2026 repeat, which would show how large or small the anxiety result was.

Sources

1. ev-b6anx-01 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs · n = 562
   A benefit to depressive symptoms did not reach significance (n = 568, SMD = 0.15, 95% CI = -0.01, 0.32, p = 0.07), and there was no effect on anxiety (n = 562, SMD = 0.03, 95% CI = -0.13, 0.20, p = 0.71).
   
   Who: healthy and at-risk adults in RCTs of daily supplements with at least 3 B vitamins for at least 4 weeks; 18 articles, 16 trials, 2015 participants
   Effect: anxiety SMD 0.03 (95% CI -0.13 to 0.20), p = 0.71; stress SMD 0.23 (0.02 to 0.45) in 958
   Certainty: These are mixtures of B vitamins, not B6 alone; no separate meta-analysis of B6 alone for anxiety found.
   Nutrients, 2019 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
2. ev-b6anx-02 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials · n = 8 trials
   Supplementation reduced the levels of perceived stress (standard mean difference [SMD]=0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.47-0.22; p=.001), mild psychiatric symptoms (SMD=0.30; 95% CI=0.43-0.18; p=.001), and anxiety (SMD=0.32; 95% CI=0.48-0.16; p<.001), but not depression (SMD=0.20; 95% CI=0.42-0.030; p<.089).
   
   Who: nonclinical general-population samples in randomized placebo-controlled trials of multivitamin/mineral supplements for at least 28 days
   Effect: anxiety SMD 0.32 (95% CI 0.16 to 0.48), p < .001; perceived stress SMD 0.35
   Certainty: Multi-ingredient preparations with B6 among others; the contribution of B6 is not isolated. The authors only suggest that high doses of B vitamins are more effective.
   Psychosom Med, 2013 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
3. ev-b6anx-03 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review of randomized and pseudo-randomized trials, narrative synthesis · n = 14 studies
   Older women experienced anxiety reduction using vitamin B6, but not folate or vitamin B12.
   
   Who: women aged 18 and over in randomized and pseudo-randomized trials of EFA, B vitamin, vitamin C, magnesium or zinc supplements
   Effect: narrative synthesis only, no pooled effect size; Mg plus B6 reduced premenstrual anxiety, B6 alone reduced anxiety in older women
   Certainty: No effect figure: the conclusion about older women rests on a single study. The synthesis is narrative because of heterogeneity.
   JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep, 2017 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
4. ev-b6anx-04 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial · n = 265
   This was driven mainly by reduced anxiety in the B6 group (t(88) = 3.51, p < 0.001, d = 0.37), while the smaller reduction that occurred in the placebo group was non‐significant (t (86) = 1.21, p = 0.265, d = 0.12). Despite this dissociation, the interaction did not reach significance (F(1,173) = 2.20, p = 0.140, η p 2 = 0.013).
   
   Who: young adults given 100 mg B6 as pyridoxine hydrochloride, 1000 ug B12 or placebo for about 1 month; anxiety assessed in 265
   Effect: within-group anxiety drop in B6 arm d = 0.37 (p < 0.001), placebo d = 0.12 (ns); group x time interaction F(1,173) = 2.20, p = 0.140
   Certainty: The headline says "reduces anxiety", but the direct comparison with placebo (interaction) was not significant. Healthy students, no diagnosis of an anxiety disorder.
   Hum Psychopharmacol, 2022 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
5. ev-b6anx-05 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · double-blind randomized controlled trial · n = 267
   We repeated the analysis procedure for anxiety and stress scores but found no significant effects.
   
   Who: 267 adults from the general population (215 female) randomized to placebo, 100 mg pyridoxine or 1000 ug B12 daily for 1 month
   Effect: no significant effect on DASS anxiety or stress; depression fell only in the subgroup with baseline symptoms (N = 58, partial eta2 0.20)
   Certainty: The replication did not confirm the 2022 effect on anxiety; the abstract has no effect size for anxiety. Full text is not in PMC.
   Depress Anxiety, 2026 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
6. ev-b6anx-06 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized single-blind phase IV trial · n = 264
   These findings suggest oral Mg supplementation alleviated stress in healthy adults with low magnesemia and the addition of vitamin B6 to Mg was not superior to Mg supplementation alone.
   
   Who: healthy adults with DASS-42 stress score above 18 and serum magnesium 0.45-0.85 mmol/L, magnesium 300 mg plus B6 30 mg daily versus magnesium 300 mg
   Effect: stress score fell 44.9% with Mg-B6 vs 42.4% with Mg, no significant difference; in severe stress subgroup (N = 162) 3.16 points greater (95% CI 0.50 to 5.82)
   Certainty: Comparison without placebo; the advantage is only in the subgroup with severe stress. The sponsor is the manufacturer of Magne B6.
   PLoS One, 2018 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
7. ev-b6anx-07 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · post-hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial · n = 264
   DASS-42 anxiety and depression scores significantly improved from baseline to week 8 with both treatments, particularly during the first 4 weeks.
   
   Who: stressed adults with low magnesemia given magnesium 300 mg with or without vitamin B6 30 mg daily
   Effect: DASS-42 anxiety improved from baseline in both arms; no B6-specific advantage on anxiety reported
   Certainty: Secondary analysis, no placebo; no effect size in the abstract.
   Stress Health, 2021 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
8. ev-b6anx-08 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial · n = 60
   Overall, the FIQR, pain-VAS, and HADS-anxiety scores improved after treatment in both vitamin B6 and placebo groups; However, there was no statistically significant intergroup difference regarding primary outcomes.
   
   Who: fibromyalgia patients randomized to vitamin B6 80 mg daily or placebo; 60 of 90 completed (31 B6, 29 placebo)
   Effect: HADS anxiety improved in both arms; no significant between-group difference
   Certainty: Small sample, a third dropped out; anxiety as a secondary profile in chronic pain.
   BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 2022 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
9. ev-b6anx-09 · Observational data · cross-sectional study · n = 3362
   Also, the lower level of vitamin B6 intake (tertile 1) in total population and women was associated with the higher odds of anxiety (OR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.31, 4.04; P < 0. 001, OR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.19, 4.46; P = 0.04).
   
   Who: 3362 adults in Isfahan, Iran, 2011; anxiety by HADS, diet by food-frequency questionnaire
   Effect: lowest vs higher intake tertile: anxiety OR 2.30 (95% CI 1.31 to 4.04) overall; women OR 2.30 (1.19 to 4.46); not in men
   Certainty: PubMed mislabels it as an RCT; it is a cross-sectional study and does not show causality. OR is odds, not risk.
   Int J Vitam Nutr Res, 2020 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
10. ev-b6anx-10 · Position of an expert body · scientific opinion based on systematic reviews · n = —
    From the midpoint of the range of these two ULs and rounding down, a UL of 12 mg/day is established by the Panel for vitamin B6 for adults (including pregnant and lactating women).
    
    Who: Adults including pregnant and lactating women
    Effect: EU UL 12 mg/day; critical effect peripheral neuropathy; trial dose 100 mg/day
    Certainty: US UL 100 mg/day (FNB): the authorities differ 8-fold; the dose from the RCT on anxiety is at the US limit and far beyond the EU limit.
    EFSA NDA Panel, EFSA Journal, 2023 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
11. ev-b6anx-11 · Position of an expert body · agency fact sheet · n = —
    However, chronic administration of 1–6 g oral pyridoxine per day for 12–40 months can cause severe and progressive sensory neuropathy characterized by ataxia (loss of control of bodily movements) [10,30-33].
    
    Who: People taking high-dose pyridoxine supplements long term
    Effect: 1-6 g/day for 12-40 months: severe progressive sensory neuropathy with ataxia; food sources not linked to harm; US UL 100 mg/day
    Certainty: Neuropathy has also been described at lower doses (under 500 mg/day), as ODS writes further in the same section.
    NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Vitamin B6 Fact Sheet for Health Professionals · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the section
12. ev-b6anx-12 · Position of an expert body · agency fact sheet · n = —
    Some research also indicates that pyridoxine supplementation (200 mg/day for 12–120 days) can reduce serum concentrations of phenytoin and phenobarbital, possibly by increasing the drugs' metabolism [33,38].
    
    Who: People taking antiepileptic drugs (valproic acid, carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital)
    Effect: pyridoxine 200 mg/day for 12-120 days may reduce serum phenytoin and phenobarbital
    Certainty: For people on antiepileptics: B6 at a high dose only with a doctor.
    NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Vitamin B6 Fact Sheet for Health Professionals · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the section
13. ev-b6anx-13 · Position of an expert body · regulatory register entry · n = —
    POL-HC-6495 Vitamin B6 Vitamin B6 contributes to normal psychological function Authorised
    
    Who: EU food and supplement labeling
    Effect: authorized health claim: Vitamin B6 contributes to normal psychological function
    Certainty: A claim about normal function with adequate intake, not about treating anxiety; conditions of use are in Regulation (EU) 432/2012, not quoted here.
    EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-6495, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the section