Older Adults May Not Need Vitamin D to Prevent Falls and Fractures

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that older adults avoid taking vitamin D and calcium supplements and instead perform exercises to improve balance and coordination so as to prevent falls and fractures, reports Reuters . "Vitamin D should not be taken to prevent falls in older adults, and lower doses of vitamin D and calcium do not prevent fractures in postmenopausal women," says USPSTF Vice Chair Alex Krist. "If healthy people are taking vitamin D solely for these reasons, they should probably stop. We know that there are more effective interventions for people concerned about falls, like exercise." Getting vitamin D and calcium from foods has been associated with a lower risk of osteoporosis, which can contribute to falls and fractures among older adults. However, the USPSTF says there is insufficient evidence to determine the benefits and drawbacks of taking vitamin D or calcium supplements to prevent fractures in men or women who have not experienced menopause. "Our findings suggest that while vitamin D may possibly prevent people with known vitamin D deficiency from falling, the evidence to-date does not support a benefit on fall prevention in the general population of older adults, and it appears that mega-high doses of vitamin D can actually cause harm," says the University of Washington's Janelle Guirguis-Blake.