Falls reduced by Vitamin D: 13 percent reduction if more than 700 IU – review of 38 trials – Aug 2022

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Association Between Vitamin D Supplementation and Fall Prevention

Front. Endocrinol., 10 August 2022 https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.919839
Fei-Long Wei1†, Tian Li2†, Quan-You Gao1†, Yuli Huang3,4, Cheng-Pei Zhou1*, Wen Wang5* and Ji-Xian Qian1*

1 Department of Orthopedics, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
2 School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
3 The George Institute for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
4 Department of Cardiology, Shunde Hospital, Southern Medical University, Foshan, China
5 Dept of Radiology and Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab. of Shanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, China

Background: Falls occur frequently among older individuals, leading to high morbidity and mortality. This study was to assess the efficacy of vitamin D in preventing older individuals from falling.

Methods: We searched the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases systematically using the keywords “vitamin D” and “fall” for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effects of vitamin D with or without calcium supplements with those of a placebo or no treatment on fall incidence in adults older than 50 years. A meta-analysis was performed to calculate risk ratios (RRs), absolute risk differences (ARDs) and 95% CIs with random-effects models.

Results: A total of 38 RCTs involving 61 350 participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Compared with placebo, high-dose vitamin D (≥ 700 IU) can prevent falls [RR, 0.87 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.96); ARD, -0.06 (95% CI, -0.10 to -0.02)]. Low-dose vitamin D (<700 IU) was not significantly associated with falls. Subgroup analysis showed that supplemental calcium, 25(OH) D concentration and frequency influenced the effect of vitamin D in preventing falls. Sensitivity analysis showed that vitamin D prevented falls, which was consistent with the primary analysis. In addition, the active form of vitamin D also prevented falls.

Conclusion: In this meta-analysis of RCTs, doses of 700 IU to 2000 IU of supplemental vitamin D per day were associated with a lower risk of falling among ambulatory and institutionalized older adults. However, this conclusion should be cautiously interpreted, given the small differences in outcomes.
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VitaminDWiki - Falls and Fractures category contains

• 246 items in FALLS and FRACTURES
• Vitamin D and Calcium cost-effectively reduce falls and fractures – April 2019
• see also Overview Seniors and Vitamin D
  • Overview Fractures and Falls and Vitamin D
  • Overview Fractures and vitamin D
  • Overview Muscles and Vitamin D

Falls

• Deaths due to falls doubled in just a decade (age-adjusted, perhaps decreased vitamin D) – June 2019
• Preventing Falls in Older Adults – Vitamin D combination is the best - JAMA Meta-analysis Nov 2017
• Falls cut in half by 100,000 IU vitamin D monthly - RCT 2016
• Falls reduced by a third if achieved 40 ng level vitamin D– RCT Sept 2018
  • Note: It took 6 months to get to that level. Most trials last only 3 months
• Vitamin D prevents falls – majority of meta-analyses conclude – meta-meta analysis Feb 2015
• Falls reduced by Vitamin D: 13 percent reduction if more than 700 IU – review of 38 trials – Aug 2022

Fracture

• Vitamin D and fractures – 24 meta-analyses and counting – Dec 2014
• Low trauma bone fractures in seniors – considering Vitamin D loading dose for all, without testing – Nov 2019
• Vitamin K (any amount and any kind) reduced bone fractures by 24 percent – meta-analysis – May 2019
• 75+ Hip fracture items in VitaminDWiki title   Click here for details

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VitaminDWiki Intervention pages with FALLS in title (9 as of Aug 2022)

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