Fractures are a major cause of disability and death for people over 70. Fractures are often the result of osteoporosis, a common condition in which the bones become more porous and fragile as they age. A large study of nearly 70,000 European and American patients has found that taking both vitamin D and calcium supplements daily reduces the risk of bone fractures. This benefit occurs regardless of age, gender, or history of fractures. As part of the Women’s Health Initiative, this study included 2006 data from clinical trials conducted at the University of California Davis in Sacramento, and was published in this week’s edition of The British Medical Journal.
John Robbins, professor of internal medicine at UC Davis and a co-author of the journal article, says "What is important about this very large study is that goes a long way toward resolving conflicting evidence about the role of vitamin D, either alone or in combination with calcium, in reducing fractures. Our WHI research in Sacramento included more than 1,000 healthy, postmenopausal women and concluded that taking calcium and vitamin D together helped them preserve bone health and prevent fractures. This latest analysis, because it incorporates so many more people, really confirms our earlier conclusions."
Robbins and his team examined the outcomes of seven large clinical trials from around the world. Their aim was to assess the effectiveness of vitamin D alone or with calcium in reducing the risk of fractures in older people (over 70 years of age). The first finding was that taking vitamin D alone has no effect.
The National Osteoporosis Foundation predicts that four in 10 women over age 50 will experience a fracture in their lifetime, and currently about 80 percent of fractures occur in women. Robbins notes, “This study supports a growing consensus that combined calcium and vitamin D is more effective than vitamin D alone in reducing a variety of fractures. Interestingly, this combination of supplements benefits both women and men of all ages, which is not something we fully expected to find. We now need to investigate the best dosage, duration and optimal way for people to take it."
