A new study involving older adults living in long-term care facilities indicates that while vitamin D can help reduce respiratory infections in this population, it may also increase the risk of a fall. The research, published online ahead of print in the January 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, involved 107 adults, aged 60 and older, who lived in long-term care facilities in Colorado.
High Vitamin D Increases Falls for Elderly?
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According to the January 5, 2017 news release, “Half the group members (also known as the “high-dose group”) who were already taking zero to 1, 000 International Units (or IUs, a measurement for vitamins) per day of vitamin D and got an additional dose of 100, 000 IU of vitamin D once a month. The other half of the group (also known as the low-dose group) received a placebo (a pill that has no effect and includes no active medication) once a month depending on how much vitamin D they took daily or monthly.”
“The researchers reported that people in the high-dose vitamin D group had 40% fewer respiratory infections during the 12-month follow-up period compared to people in the low-dose group. However, the people in the high-dose group had more than twice the number of falls compared to people in the low-dose group.
Adit Ginde, M.D., M.P.H., professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, told OTW, “I have had a longstanding interest in the role of vitamin D in the immune system, particularly prevention of respiratory infection. Older adults and long-term care residents commonly have respiratory infections and are at high risk for complications when they get these infections. We see this commonly in the emergency department (Note: I work clinically in the ED). So, this trial was a natural fit for my interests.”
“Vitamin D is important for bone health but also may have an important role in preventing respiratory infections. However, there should be caution in given high intermittent (weekly or monthly) doses because of the potential for increased fall risk.”
“The next step for this work is a large Phase 3 trial to confirm, clarify, or refute the findings of our Phase 2 trial.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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