Taking vitamin D supplements may
reduce the risk of falls in elderly people in residential
care facilities, results of a study published in the Journal
of the American Geriatrics Society suggest.
In the study, Australian researchers examined the effect
of vitamin D supplementation in 625 residents of 149 residential
care facilities. The subjects were not vitamin D deficient.
The participants were randomly assigned to receive vitamin
D supplements or inactive "placebo" for 2 years. All of
the residents were prescribed 600 mg of calcium daily.
Care staff recorded falls and fractures in diaries. At
the start of the study, patient characteristics were similar
in both groups.
The researchers report that vitamin D use cut the risk
of falls by 27 percent to 37 percent compared with placebo.
"This study supports the use of vitamin D supplements
in older people in residential care," lead author Dr.
Leon Flicker, of the University of Western Australia,
and colleagues note. "The demonstrated benefits in this
study on the rates of falls for individuals with marginal
vitamin D levels, even without...vitamin D deficiency,
highlights the potential benefits of vitamin D supplementation
in this population."
SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, November
2005.
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Reference
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November
25, 2005
