BACKGROUND: The impact of vitamin D on fall incidence remains controversial. We studied the effect of 5 years of vitamin D3 supplementation on the risk of falls in a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial with generally healthy, community-dwelling men and women in Finland.
METHODS: The study included 2495 participants, men aged = 60 and women aged = 65, who were randomized into three arms: 1600 IU/day or 3200 IU/day of vitamin D3 or placebo. A random subgroup of 551 participants underwent more detailed examinations. Falls and fall-related injuries were collected with questionnaires at months 0, 12, 24, 36, and 60. General linear mixed models and generalized linear models were used for analyses.
RESULTS: Over the 5-year follow-up, a similar fall risk of 55% and fall-injury risk of 11% were observed in the placebo, 1600 IU/day, and 3200 IU/day arms, with the mean number of falls and fall-injuries per person-year of 1.26 (95% CI 1.14-1.38) and 0.07 (95% CI 0.06-0.08), respectively. Age, sex, or BMI did not modify the results. In the random subgroup, the mean baseline serum 25(OH)D concentration was 75 nmol/L (SD 18). After 12 months, the concentrations were 73, 100, and 120 nmol/L in the placebo, 1600 IU/day, and 3200 IU/day arms, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Five-year vitamin D3 supplementation of 1600 IU/day or 3200 IU/day did not affect the overall risk of falls or fall injuries among generally healthy, largely vitamin D sufficient men and women. The findings do not support the use of high vitamin D doses for fall prevention in such populations.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01463813, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01463813.
| Discipline Area | Score |
|---|---|
| Public Health |  |
| Geriatrics |  |
| Family Medicine (FM)/General Practice (GP) | |
| General Internal Medicine-Primary Care(US) | |
I think this has been proven already. The evidence for Vit D has been weak and overstated overall. Why anyone would think Vitamin D supplements would prevent falls in the first place is beyond me.
Reinforces previous studies on this topic.
This study is beneficial for clinical practice because nearly 2500 patients were studied with little advantage with vitamin D3 ( 1600 IU and 3200 IU) versus placebo for preventing falls (95% CI 1.14 - 1.38, RR 1.26]. Despite these findings, I am still concerned about the need for vitamin D among patients renal diases on dialysis with secondary hyperparathyroidism.
