Vitamin D Injection Fails To Prevent Fractures In Elderly People
Main Category: Bones / OrthopedicsAlso Included In: Seniors / Aging; Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
Article Date: 15 Nov 2007 - 0:00 PDT
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An annual injection of vitamin D does not reduce the rate of bone fractures suffered by elderly people. The finding is the result of a four-year long study in which scientists from the MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre at the University of Southampton compared the number of bone fractures experienced by elderly people who received a vitamin D injection with those of men and women who were given a placebo. They found no change in the rate of hip, wrist or other non-vertebral fractures between the two groups.
The study is published online by the journal Rheumatology and will appear in the journal's December issue.
The clinical trial involved 9,440 men and women aged over 75 living in the Wessex region. Vitamin D deficiency is common amongst elderly people and is thought to contribute to the risk of osteoporotic fractures - bones broken as they are weakened by osteoporosis. The injection of vitamin D, or placebo, was given at the same time as people received their annual flu vaccine. The study aimed to determine whether giving a vitamin D injection to the elderly at the same time would help to protect them against osteoporotic fractures.
'Unfortunately the results suggest that giving vitamin D in the form of an injection doesn't appear to be beneficial to older people,' commented Professor Cyrus Cooper, leader of the research team, Professor of Rheumatology and Director of the MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre at Southampton.
He continued: 'This is one of the largest studies of its kind and we have demonstrated quite conclusively that an annual intramuscular injection of vitamin D, given in association with influenza vaccination, is not effective at reducing fractures caused by osteoporosis among elderly people living in southern England.
'Although encouraging findings were obtained from a smaller European study, our results suggest that a programme of vitamin D injections would not be a justifiable use of stretched health care resources. Although vitamin D insufficiency is common among older people, the most effective means of correcting this would be by combined oral daily calcium and vitamin D supplements.'
Southampton University
http://www.soton.ac.uk
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MLA
14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/88858.php>
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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/88858.php.
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Visitor Opinions In Chronological Order (2)
Vitamin D Can Make Your Life Better
posted by John Haaland on 2 Dec 2007 at 7:33 amThis study was based on injections "ONCE A YEAR." A much more interesting study would be injections three times a week of Vitamin D. The results would have been much different and could have helped the majority of patients in this study. Obviously, the implementers, or backers of this study wanted it to fail.
ERGOCALCIFEROL D2 When Will They Every Learn
posted by Edward Hutchinson on 5 Dec 2007 at 6:03 amThe Case against Ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) as a vitamin supplement. (full text online if you google the title) explains in detail the reasons why Vitamin D2 should NEVER be used to raise vitamin D status.
D3 is cheaper, more effective, will require only a third of the amount of D2 necessary to produce the same rise in status. It also has a better safety record. But particularly important for this research, the evidence that OLDER PEOPLE do NOT metabolise or utilise D2 is overwhelming.
It amazes me that no health professional has yet been sued for the use of D2 when a more effective alternative is readily available on the supplement shelves of most chemists.
2000iu/daily of Vitamin D3 will raise the status of most adults around 45nmol/l and that will get most of those currently with levels around 40nmol/l nicely over the 80nmol/l calcium uptake threshold.
See " The Vitamin D requirement in health and disease" Robert P. Heaney (full text online)
What really amuses me is that there are still UK doctors who are unaware how much vitamin D the body uses daily and how little is available from food.
300,000iu D2 (as used in this research) is the equivalent of 100,000iu D3
100,000/once every 365days = 274iu/daily
400iu raises status 9nmol/l so at best this amount would improve status by around 6nmol/l, such a trivial amount it would not be noticable anyway we know that daily-weekly doses are more effective than monthly or annual.
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