Taking vitamin D supplements does not help prevent bone fractures in most healthy adults.
- Vitamin D increases the concentrations of calcium and phosphorus in the blood.
- Foods rich in vitamin D include oily fish, certain mushrooms, egg yolks, dark chocolate, cereals, butter and organ meats.
Vitamin D supplements are widely prescribed and used to improve bone health. But “the data on the prevention of fractures are contradictory”, wrote researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (USA) in a recent study published in the journal The New England Journal of Medicine.
25,871 attendees
As part of this work, the scientists wanted to check whether vitamin D3 supplementation reduced the risk of fractures. For this, they recruited 25,871 healthy people. “Participants were not recruited on the basis of vitamin D deficiency, low bone mass, or osteoporosis. Incident fractures were reported by volunteers through annual questionnaires and assessed by physical examination. centralized medical records. The main endpoints were total, non-vertebral and hip fractures”can we read in the research.
No decrease in fracture risk
According to the results, 1,991 incident fractures in 1,551 adults were recorded during the five-year follow-up. Compared to placebo, vitamin D3 supplementation (2,000 IU/day) did not reduce the risk of total, non-vertebral or hip fractures. According to the authors, taking vitamin D3 supplements also had no effect on major osteoporotic fractures, wrist fractures or pelvic fractures.
“Overall, the results of this large clinical trial do not support the use of vitamin D supplements to reduce fractures in healthy Americans. These results do not apply to adults with vitamin D deficiency. vitamin D, low bone mass or osteoporosis”, said Meryl LeBoff, lead author of the study, in a statement.
