BoneKEy Reports | BoneKEy Watch

How much vitamin D is required to prevent fractures?



DOI:10.1038/bonekey.2012.171

This meta-analysis looked at the effect of vitamin D on hip and nonvertebral fracture reduction and included recent studies, such as the negative trial of once yearly 500 000 IU vitamin D. It also incorporated rigorous methodology, including patient-level analysis, stratification by supplement dose and estimates of actual intake accounting for adherence.

A total of 31 022 subjects were included, 91% of them women. A total of 1111 had hip fractures due to falls and 3770 had nonvertebral fractures. Overall, subjects given vitamin D had their risk of hip fracture reduced by 10% and their risk of nonvertebral fracture reduced by 7%, neither of which were significant.

A significant reduction in fracture risk did occur when vitamin D intake was high—800 IU daily on average, with a range of 792–2000 IU. At this dose range, patients had a 30% reduction in their risk of hip fracture and a 14% reduction in nonvertebral fracture risk, both significant. The benefit of high dosing was apparent across age groups, socioeconomic background, baseline vitamin D level and calcium intake level.

Editor's comment: The meta-analysis confirms that vitamin D supplements do actually reduce hip fracture risk by up to 30%, provided they are given in adequate amounts (>700 IU daily) and to patients who have low levels at baseline. It is science confirming common sense.


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