Vitamin D Supplementation to Prevent Falls?

In the randomized VITAL trial — in which 26,000 community-dwelling middle-aged or older adults received 2000 IU of vitamin D₃ or placebo — the primary outcomes focused on adverse cardiovascular events and cancer (NEJM JW Gen Med Dec 15 2018 and N Engl J Med 2019; 380:33). Now, the researchers have examined whether vitamin D supplementation prevented falls in this study. At baseline, mean 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) level was 31 ng/mL in this population.

During 5 years of follow-up, the annual rate of ≥2 injurious falls was about 10%, with no difference between the vitamin D and placebo groups. No protective effect of vitamin D supplementation was evident in any subgroup — including among those participants whose baseline 25(OH)D levels wer…