Although vitamin D supplements are widely prescribed and used to benefit bone health, definitive data on whether these supplements reduce fractures in the general population have been inconsistent.
To advance scientific understanding of this topic, a team of researchers from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital conducted a complementary study to VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL), a clinical trial with over 25,000 adultsalso run by Brigham researchers.
A total of 1,991 incident fractures were confirmed in 1,551 participants during a median follow-up of 5.3 years. Compared to placebo, supplemental vitamin D3 (2000 IU/day) did not reduce fractures total, non-vertebral or hip. Analyzes also showed no effect of supplemental vitamin D3 on major osteoporotic fractures, wrist fractures, or pelvic fractures. Effects were not modified by baseline age, gender, race, body mass index, baseline vitamin D blood levels, or personal use of calcium and/or vitamin D supplements.
“Overall, the results of this large clinical trial do not support the use of vitamin D supplementation to reduce fractures in generally healthy American men and women,” said lead author Meryl LeBoff, MD, Chief of the Calcium and Bone Section in the Division of Endocrinology. at the Brighams. “These findings do not apply to adults with vitamin D deficiency or low bone mass or osteoporosis.
Most of the trial participants were not deficient and may have already reached the level of vitamin D needed for bone health. Our ongoing studies focus on whether free vitamin D levels, genetic variation in vitamin D absorption, metabolism, or receptor function will provide information on people who may benefit from supplemental vitamin D in musculoskeletal health.
JoAnn MansonMD, co-author and chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham, said, “Although VITAL was originally designed to look at cardiovascular and cancer outcomes, this is a wonderful example of how it has shed light on health outcomes beyond their original goals.