Skip Navigation



Age and Ageing Advance Access published online on April 26, 2006
Age and Ageing, doi:10.1093/ageing/afj080
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
35/5/482    most recent
afj080v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Law, M.
Right arrow Articles by Anderson, F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Law, M.
Right arrow Articles by Anderson, F.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received October 6, 2005
Accepted February 6, 2006

Article

Vitamin D supplementation and the prevention of fractures and falls: results of a randomised trial in elderly people in residential accommodation

Malcolm Law 1 *, Heather Withers 1, Joan Morris 1, and Frazer Anderson 2

1 Centre for Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and The London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
2 Geriatric Medicine Group, University of Southampton Medical School, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Malcolm Law, E-mail: m.r.law{at}qmul.ac.uk


  Abstract

Objectives: To determine whether vitamin D supplementation reduces the risk of fracture or falls in elderly people in care home accommodation.

Design: A randomised controlled trial of cluster design.

Setting and subjects: 223 residential units (mainly identical 30-bedded units), within 118 homes for elderly people throughout Britain, with 3,717 participating residents (76% women, average age 85 years). The units provided mainly or entirely residential care (35% of residents), nursing care (42%) or care for elderly mentally infirm (EMI) residents (23%).

Methods: Participants were randomly allocated by residential unit (cluster design) to a treated group offered ergocalciferol 2.5 mg every 3 months (equivalent to a daily dose of 1,100 IU), or to a control group. Fractures were reported by staff and confirmed in hospital, and routinely collected data on reported falls were obtained.

Results: After median follow-up of 10 months (interquartile range 7-14 months), 64 (3.6%) of 1,762 vitamin D-treated residents and 51 (2.6%) of 1,955 controls had one or more non-vertebral fractures, and 24 (1.3%) and 20 (1.0%), respectively, had a hip fracture. The proportion reporting at least one fall was 44% in vitamin D-treated and 43% in control residents. The differences between the vitamin D and control groups were not statistically significant. The incidence of all non-vertebral fractures in the care homes (3.2% per year) and of hip fractures (1.1% per year) was low, similar to rates in elderly people in sheltered accommodation, and the pre-treatment serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentration was high [median 47 nmol/l, measured in a 1% (n = 18) sample].

Conclusions: We found no evidence that vitamin D prevents fractures or falls in elderly people in care home accommodation.

Keywords: vitamin D, fractures, hip fractures, falls, elderly, prevention.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 BMJHome page
H A Bischoff-Ferrari, B Dawson-Hughes, H B Staehelin, J E Orav, A E Stuck, R Theiler, J B Wong, A Egli, D P Kiel, and J Henschkowski
Fall prevention with supplemental and active forms of vitamin D: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
BMJ, October 1, 2009; 339(oct01_1): b3692 - b3692.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Intern MedHome page
H. A. Bischoff-Ferrari, W. C. Willett, J. B. Wong, A. E. Stuck, H. B. Staehelin, E. J. Orav, A. Thoma, D. P. Kiel, and J. Henschkowski
Prevention of Nonvertebral Fractures With Oral Vitamin D and Dose Dependency: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Arch Intern Med, March 23, 2009; 169(6): 551 - 561.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Endocr. Rev.Home page
R. Bouillon, G. Carmeliet, L. Verlinden, E. van Etten, A. Verstuyf, H. F. Luderer, L. Lieben, C. Mathieu, and M. Demay
Vitamin D and Human Health: Lessons from Vitamin D Receptor Null Mice
Endocr. Rev., October 1, 2008; 29(6): 726 - 776.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Clin. Nutr.Home page
B. Dawson-Hughes
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and functional outcomes in the elderly
Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, August 1, 2008; 88(2): 537S - 540S.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Age AgeingHome page
H. Cox, S. Puffer, V. Morton, C. Cooper, J. Hodson, T. Masud, D. Oliver, D. Preedy, P. Selby, M. Stone, et al.
Educating nursing home staff on fracture prevention: a cluster randomised trial
Age Ageing, March 1, 2008; 37(2): 167 - 172.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Age AgeingHome page
T. J. Aspray and R. M. Francis
Vitamin D deficiency can old age learn from childhood?
Age Ageing, January 1, 2008; 37(1): 6 - 7.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Rheumatology (Oxford)Home page
H. Smith, F. Anderson, H. Raphael, P. Maslin, S. Crozier, and C. Cooper
Effect of annual intramuscular vitamin D on fracture risk in elderly men and women a population-based, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Rheumatology, December 1, 2007; 46(12): 1852 - 1857.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Rheumatology (Oxford)Home page
R. M. Francis
The Vitamin D Paradox
Rheumatology, December 1, 2007; 46(12): 1749 - 1750.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Intern MedHome page
P. Autier and S. Gandini
Vitamin D Supplementation and Total Mortality: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Arch Intern Med, September 10, 2007; 167(16): 1730 - 1737.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JRSMHome page
A. G Zermansky, D. P Alldred, D. R Petty, and D. K Raynor
Striving to recruit: the difficulties of conducting clinical research on elderly care home residents
J R Soc Med, June 1, 2007; 100(6): 258 - 261.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Age AgeingHome page
M. Law, J. Morris, and H. Withers
Reply
Age Ageing, March 1, 2007; 36(2): 233 - 233.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Age AgeingHome page
H. Zeimer
Vitamin D supplementation and the prevention of fractures and falls
Age Ageing, March 1, 2007; 36(2): 232 - 233.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BMJHome page
D. Oliver, J. B Connelly, C. R Victor, F. E Shaw, A. Whitehead, Y. Genc, A. Vanoli, F. C Martin, and M. A Gosney
Strategies to prevent falls and fractures in hospitals and care homes and effect of cognitive impairment: systematic review and meta-analyses
BMJ, January 13, 2007; 334(7584): 82 - 82.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Age AgeingHome page
W. B. Grant
Cholecalciferol, not ergocalciferol, should be used for vitamin D supplementation
Age Ageing, November 1, 2006; 35(6): 645 - 645.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Age AgeingHome page
T. J. Aspray and R. M. Francis
Fracture prevention in care home residents: is vitamin D supplementation enough?
Age Ageing, September 1, 2006; 35(5): 455 - 456.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.