Articles

Vitamin D Linked to Increased Falls in the Elderly

07/01/2016

A Swiss study recently concluded that elderly people taking high doses of vitamin D were receiving little or no benefits, and might instead be put at greater risk of falling.

The study did not provide evidence to suggest that the current UK government recommendations for older adults – a daily supplement of 10mcg – are "unsafe". Therefore, people in the UK who currently take the recommended guideline amount of vitamin D supplementation should not be concerned about the results of the trial as it was conducted with levels of 20mcg.

The trial suggests that over 20mcg a day of vitamin D is not beneficial or helpful, and perhaps even counterproductive for elderly people.

The study was carried out by researchers from University Hospital Zurich and the University of Basel in Switzerland, and Tufts University and the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health in the United States.

It was primarily funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and The VELUX Foundations.

Despite not being proven in the study, speculation has suggested that the pills make patients more active, meaning they have a higher chance of falling over.

Vitamin D is believed to have a direct effect on muscle strength. Supplementation has been suggested as a way of maintaining function in older adults.

Despite the latest trial, evidence has previously seemed to indicate the positive effects of vitamin D in the elderly. They are said to have consistently shown that vitamin D doses have a beneficial effect in preventing falls and hip fractures in those aged over 65. 

The results of the latest study:

The average age of the participants was 78, and two-thirds were women. Only 42% had enough vitamin D blood levels at the start of the study, 58% were deficient (less than 20ng/ml) and 13% were severely deficient (less than 10ng/ml). There were no differences between the groups at the start of the study.

According to the NHS website, “Overall, 60.5% of participants reported a fall during the study. The rates at 12 months were significantly higher in the 60,000 IU vitamin D group (66.9%) and the 24,000 IU vitamin D plus calcifediol group (66.1%) compared with the 24,000 IU only group (47.9%).

“When looking at the overall number of falls, more falls were seen in the two high-dose groups in people who had adequate vitamin D at the start of the study.”

Written By:

Daniel James
www.danieljamesbio.com
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