Vitamin D needs more calcium to lower hip fracture

[dougadam]

Fri May 18, 2007 6:30PM EDT
By Will Boggs, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The risk of hip fracture appears to be reduced by oral vitamin D supplements only if they are accompanied by additional calcium, according to a report in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

"Supplementation should be targeted to individuals with insufficiencies," Dr. Steven Boonen from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium told Reuters Health. This includes individuals older than 75 years; those who are home bound or institutionalized; patients with a diagnosis of osteoporosis; and individuals on steroids or other drugs that decrease bone mineral density.

Boonen and his associates compared the risk of hip fracture using data from vitamin D trials and from vitamin D plus calcium trials. Both compared the supplements with placebo or no treatment.

The risk of hip fracture in the vitamin D-only trials was not statistically significant, the authors report. In contrast, the hip fracture risk in the vitamin D plus calcium trials was reduced by 18 percent, the report indicates.

Combining the data yielded a statistically significant 25-percent lower risk of hip fracture, in favor of vitamin D with additional calcium.

With aging comes a negative calcium balance and for most people this is "due to the combination of inadequate calcium intake and suboptimal vitamin D status," Boonen said. "That is why, in most individuals, a combination of calcium and vitamin D is required to restore calcium balance and reduce fracture risk."

"Current evidence indicates that you need at least 800 IU of vitamin D to reduce fracture risk (and that you need additional calcium supplements), but what we don't know is whether 800 IU of vitamin D is the optimal dose for musculoskeletal health," Boonen added. "Future research should focus on this question."

SOURCE: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, April 2007.

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSROB88092720070518

 

[Kakashi]

It has sense because Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones, it regulates calcium and phosphorus levels in the blood. So for healthy bones Vitamin D serves as a regulator. Vitamin D deficiency would lead to soft bones because the body can't absorb calcium that well.

 

[DenisP]

Vitamin D is a super important vitamin, and I think that a lot of the problems that people have these days is due to vitamin D deficiencies. A lot of people spend way too much time indoors, whether you spend all day playing video games or if you work in an office. It's hard to get enough vitamin D through diet alone, so it's important to either go outdoors and get some sunlight, or take supplements if you don't have the time. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to many issues such as insomnia, depression, poor immune system, brittle bones, and heart disease, so it's clearly important that we get enough of it.

 

[Henrywrites]

When we talk of riders, we focus on building our muscles and this is something that vitamin D brings to our bones when we take them. The thing is that we should try as much as we can take enough food that have vitamin D.