Vitamin D Reduces Risk of Falling

ZURICH, SwitzerlandSeniors who take between 700 and 1,000 international units (IU) of supplemental vitamin D per day (vitamin D2 or D3) reduce their risk of falling by 19 percent and by up to 26 percent with vitamin D3, according to a new study published in the Oct. 2 edition of BMJ.

Researchers reviewed the findings of eight fall prevention studies involving participants aged 65 and older and found the beneficial effect was significant within two to five months of starting treatment, extended beyond 12 months, and was independent of age, type of dwelling or additional calcium supplementation, the researchers noted.

Supplemental vitamin D doses of less than 700 IU per day didn't reduce falls, wrote Dr. Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari, director of the Center on Aging and Mobility at University Hospital Zurich. Additionally, active forms of vitamin D didn't appear to be more effective than the 700 to 1,000 IU supplemental vitamin D.