Vitamin D supplements alone ‘won’t avert fracture’
Vitamin D supplements fail to reduce the risk of fractures in healthy middle-aged and older adults compared with placebo — even among those with low 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels, a pivotal study shows.
US researchers say their findings, based on data from some 26,000 patients, suggest the need to rethink the widespread use of the supplements, especially in the absence of clear deficiency.
The team, from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, reported findings from an ancillary study of the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL) to assess whether supplementation with 2000IU vitamin D3 a day lowered the risk of fractures.
The participants (mean age of 67) were not selected for vitamin D deficiency, low bone mass or osteoporosis; the average baseline 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was about 77nmol/L.
