For seniors: taking drugs was associated with about 2 ng less vitamin D

Created December 2011

The impact of medication on vitamin D status in older individuals.

Eur J Endocrinol. 2011 Dec 14.

Sohl E, van Schoor N, De Jongh R, de Vries OJ, Lips P. p.lips@vumc.nl

E Sohl, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, EMGO institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE: Vitamin D deficiency and polypharmacy are common in the elderly. However, knowledge on the associations between the use of specific medicines and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) is limited. The aim of this study was to (better) define the associations between the use of specific medicines and serum 25(OH)D.

METHODS: Two different cohorts (1995/1996 and 2002/2003) from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) were used for cross-sectional analyses. LASA is based on an age and sex-stratified random sample of the Dutch older population. Study participants were aged 65-88 years in the first cohort (n=1301) and 55-65 years in the second cohort (n=736). Serum 25(OH)D of users of several groups of medicines were compared with levels of non-users using multiple linear regression analysis.

RESULTS: Of all participants, 75.4% (first cohort) and 61.1% (second cohort) were using at least one medicine. In both cohorts, the number of medicines was associated with lower serum 25(OH)D. In the first cohort, after adjustment for confounding,

  • users of any kind of medicine,

  • loop diuretics and

  • inhaled corticosteroids (only men)

had respectively 4.4 nmol/L (p<0.01), 4.7 nmol/L (p=0.04), and 7.3 nmol/L (p=0.02) lower serum 25(OH)D than non-users.

In the second cohort (younger), the use of

  • oral antidiabetics,

  • calcium-channel blockers, and

  • ACE-inhibitors

was associated with respectively 7.4 nmol/L (p=0.04), 7.7 nmol/L (p=0.01), and 7.6 nmol/L (p<0.01) lower serum 25(OH)D.

CONCLUSIONS: These data show that users of several medicines have lower serum 25(OH)D than non-users.

Vitamin D supplementation may be considered in patients with chronic use of medicines.

PMID: 22170799

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About 2 ng less for loop diuretics, inhaled corticosteroids

About 3 ng less for oral antidiabetics, calcium-channel blockers, ACE-inhibitors

Unknown:

  • Low health ==> take drugs ==> lower vitamin D

  • Low vitamin D ==> Low health ==> take drugs

See also VitaminDWiki

Tags: Interactions Seniors