Vitamin D Supplementation to Prevent Falls

Some authorities recommend vitamin D supplementation to prevent fractures in older people, although results from clinical trials have been mixed. The presumed mechanism for vitamin D's effect on fractures is to strengthen bone. However, because research also suggests that vitamin D deficiency is associated with impaired muscle function, supplementation might also prevent the falls that result in fractures.

Australian researchers randomized 625 older residents of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities (95% women) to receive either supplemental vitamin D (ergocalciferol; 10,000 IU weekly or 1000 IU daily) or placebo. All participants had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels between 25 nmol/L and 90 nmol/L; those with levels lower than 25 nmo…