Vitamin D2 plus Calcium Supplementation Reduces the Risk of Falls

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Vitamin D2 plus Calcium Supplementation Reduces the Risk of Falls

http://www.vitasearch.com/CP/weeklyupdates/

Reference: " Effects of ergocalciferol added to calcium on the risk of

falls in elderly high-risk women, " Prince RL, Austin N, et al, Arch

Intern Med, 2008; 168(1): 103-8. (Address: School of Medicine and

Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. E-mail:

rlprince@... ).

Summary: In a one-year, population-based, double-blind, randomized

controlled trial involving 302 community-dwelling ambulant older women

(aged 70-90 years) living in a sunny climate (Perth, Australia), with

serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations less than 24.0 ng/mL and a

history of falling the previous year, supplementation with

ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) in addition to calcium citrate was found to

reduce the risk of falling by 19%, especially in the winter. All study

subjects received 1000 mg/day calcium citrate. In addition, one group

received 1000 IU/d ergocalciferol, while the other group received a

placebo. Results found that supplementation with ergocalciferol reduced

the risk of having at least 1 fall over 1 year (53.0% vs 62.9%).

Furthermore, ergocalciferol reduced the risk of having the first fall in

winter and spring (25.2% vs 35.8%), though not in summer and autumn.

Ergocalciferol treatment did not appear to reduce the risk of having

multiple falls, but did reduce the risk of having 1 fall (21.2% vs

33.8%). In light of the fact that " approximately one-third of women

older than 65 fall each year, and six percent sustain a fracture as a

result of the fall, " these results offer hope that supplementation with

vitamin D2 plus calcium citrate may offer significant protection against

falls, particularly among older women with vitamin D insufficiency

living in sunny climates, especially during the winter.

--

ne Holden, MS, RD

" Ask the Parkinson Dietitian " http://www.parkinson.org/

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