Vitamin D boosts chances of walking after hip fracture says new research

Older people who have a hip fracture are more likely to walk if they are not deficient in vitamin D, says research in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

A fractured hip can be difficult to recover from and regaining mobility is important for full recovery.

So a team looked at information from 290 people who were having hip fracture repair (73% were women). They found that those who were deficient in vitamin D were less likely to be walking 30 and 60 days after hip fracture surgery. And poor nutrition may also be associated with reduced mobility after surgery.

“Vitamin D deficiency and malnutrition are common disorders in elderly patients with hip fractures and often occur together since both are complications of poor nutrition,” says Prof Sue Shapses, who is involved in the work and recommends that older adults take 800 international units of vitamin D daily to prevent deficiency.

Natural sources of vitamin D

• Sunlight allows your skin to make vitamin D
• Fatty fish (ie mackerel and salmon)
• Egg yolks
• Mushrooms

Click here to read the original research. 

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