Wrist fractures from minor falls (ages 18–60): lower active vitamin D, similar 25(OH)D
The association between Vitamin D metabolites and low-energy distal radius fractures in non-elderly adults
Ulus Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg (Turkish Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery), Nov 2026; 32(11):1425-1434, https://doi.org/10.14744/tjtes.2026.06812
Berk Koncalioglu, Batuhan Gencer, Ufuk Arzu, Seyyid Necmeddin Cevik, Ihsan Ozdamar, Deniz Gulabi
Summary by Claude - November 2026
Adults aged 18–60 who broke a wrist in a minor fall had about the same 25(OH)D — the standard vitamin D blood test — as healthy people, but significantly lower levels of the active hormone, 1,25(OH)₂D (calcitriol). The authors suggest that "alterations in active Vitamin D metabolism may be associated with low-energy DRFs."
This is an observational case-control study from Istanbul, Türkiye: 102 patients with a low-energy distal radius fracture (a wrist break from a minor fall rather than a high-impact injury) compared with 138 healthy controls of similar age and sex. No vitamin D was given; blood levels were only measured.
Results
- 25(OH)D: no significant difference between groups (p = 0.557)
- 1,25(OH)₂D: significantly lower in the fracture group (p < 0.001)
- Within the fracture group, breaks that did not reach the joint surface (extra-articular) had lower 25(OH)D and higher alkaline phosphatase than other fracture types
25(OH)D is the storage form; the kidneys convert it to 1,25(OH)₂D, the form that acts on bone and calcium absorption. If conversion is the weak link, the standard test would not reveal it. Magnesium, a cofactor for this conversion, was not among the reported measures.
What this does NOT show
- Cause vs. consequence. Blood was necessarily drawn after the fracture (how long after is not stated in the abstract). Earlier studies found 1,25(OH)₂D falls after a fracture — about 21% over 6 weeks in one — so the lower level may be a result of the break and its healing, not a cause: Briggs 2013 Alkalay 1989
- "Similar" 25(OH)D is not "adequate" 25(OH)D — actual levels are not given in the abstract.
- No one took vitamin D, so it does not show that D3 or calcitriol would prevent wrist fractures.
- 1,25(OH)₂D shifts within hours with PTH, calcium and phosphate; one blood test is a snapshot.
- The fracture-type comparisons split 102 patients into small subgroups and are exploratory.
- This summary is based on the abstract only; the full paper is paywalled.
Sources:
- Briggs 2013, JBMR – vitamin D metabolites after long bone fracture
- Alkalay 1989, J Bone Joint Surg Br – vitamin D metabolites after fracture vs elective surgery
- Gorter 2014, Bone – systematic review of vitamin D in human fracture healing
- VitaminDWiki Falls and Fractures tag
Related in VitaminDWiki
- Overview Fractures and vitamin D
- Overview Fractures and Falls and Vitamin D
- Vitamin D and fractures – 24 meta-analyses and counting – Dec 2014
Calcitriol
- Active form of vitamin D (calcitriol) cut in half the fractures following organ transplant – meta-analysis
- Calcitriol
- 2260 diseases found to be fought by fully-activated Vitamin D (Calcitriol)