Vitamin D, Calcium Limits Falls in Older Women

ZURICH, Switzerland--Taking a combination of vitamin D and calcium for at least three years might help older ambulatory women reduce their odds of falling by as much as 65 percent, according to researchers reporting study results in the Feb. 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine (166, 4:424-30, 2006).

The scientists, from University Hospital Zurich, Harvard School of Public Health and the Jean Mayer Center at Tufts University, investigated the role of supplemental cholecalciferol and calcium citrate for three years in men, active older individuals and elderly subjects with higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. The placebo-controlled, randomized, double blind study involved 199 men and 246 women 65 years or older and living at home, each taking either 700 IU cholecalciferol plus 500 mg caclcium citrate malate daily or a placebo. Researchers classified the subjects as less physically active (for activity below the median level) and marked subjects whose vitamin D levels were below 32 ng/mL.

After three years, 55 percent of men and 45 percent of women reported at least one fall; however, the cholecalciferol-calcium combination significantly reduced the odds of falling in women with more pronounced effects in less active women. Baseline vitamin D levels had no apparent effect on results, and supplementation did not reduce men's risk of falls.

The researchers concluded long-term vitamin D plus calcium supplementation reduces the odds of falling in ambulatory older women by 46 percent and in less active older women by 65 percent, but offered only a neutral effect in men, independent of their physical activity level.