Vitamin D supplements could help reduce falls in homebound older people – latest findings
A third of people over the age of 65 years fall every year, about 10–15% of which result in fracture. Even if injury does not occur, fear of falling can lead to reduced activity and loss of independence.
We know that vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining muscle strength and some studies suggest it may also reduce the risk of falls. Older people are at increased risk of low vitamin D levels due to decreased exposure to sunlight and sometimes poor dietary intake. So a group of experts looked at the feasibility of delivering a vitamin D supplement through a meals-on-wheels programme to improve vitamin D levels and reduce falls.
A total of 68 people were given a monthly vitamin D supplement of 100,000 international units or a pretend pill with their meals-on-wheels meal. Their history of falls and fear of falling was recorded and blood tests taken at the beginning and at end of the trial to measure a biomarker for vitamin D in the blood. A diary recorded falls during the five-month study.
At the start of the study, over half of the volunteers had low levels of vitamin D in the blood (less than 20 ng/ml). Less than a quarter had concentrations in the optimal range.
But by the end of the study, the monthly vitamin D supplement had increased the concentrations of vitamin D in the blood from insufficient to sufficient levels in all but one of the 34 people who received it, and to optimal levels in all but five people. And people in the vitamin D group had about half the falls of those in the control group.
“Although these initial findings are encouraging, we need to confirm the results in a larger trial,” Dr Denise Houston says in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. “Falls in homebound older people often lead to disability and placement in a nursing home. One or our aging center’s goals is to help people maintain their independence and live safely at home for as long as possible.”
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Image credit: John Liu
